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  MIKE CHIEN Senior outside hitter Ashley Bowles digs the ball in a victory over Arizona on Friday. UCLA d. Arizona 30-27, 30-27, 30-19; UCLA d. ASU 30-19, 30-20, 30-24

By Christina Teller

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

One week can make all the difference.

The Bruins who swept the No.3 Arizona Wildcats (7-1, 2-1 Pac-10) on Friday and the ASU Sun Devils on Saturday didn’t seem to be the same squad that fell to USC on Sept. 21.

Friday night against the Wildcats, the ball consistently found the floor as the Bruins steadily rolled to a 30-27, 30-27, 30-19 victory.

The first game was a see-saw battle as neither team led by more than three points until the Bruins closed out the first game 30-27 by scoring the final three points.

Arizona jumped out to an early 4-1 lead, but after senior outside hitter Ashley Bowles made a diving save and the play was capped by a sharp-angle kill from sophomore outside hitter Lauren Fendrick, the Bruins pulled back within one at 7-6.

Game two ended in another 30-27 decision, with the Bruins finishing with 40 kills to Arizona’s 29.

Though the Bruins earned their victory in three games, the Wildcats did not give in. It wasn’t until UCLA had pulled ahead by five at 18-13 in the third game after a solid solo block from sophomore middle blocker Cira Wright that it was clear that the Bruins would take home the “W.”

The Bruin blocker made a stronger appearance against the Wildcats than it had against USC, tallying seven total team blocks on the night compared to just three against the Trojans.

According to Bowles, blocking was one thing the team focused on most over the past week.

“We really looked at (Arizona’s) offense and studied their hitting in practice last week,” Bowles said.

Head coach Andy Banachowski cited the victory over the Wildcats as a boost in confidence and an indication that the Bruins belong among the top teams in the country.

“It feels real good to get this win,” he said. “I think that if we hadn’t been able to come out and play respectable tonight, we would have felt like maybe we don’t belong in that top group. I think we do, and I think we’re capable of it.”

The Wildcats learned the hard way.

“We didn’t step up to the level they were playing at from an intensity standpoint,” Arizona head coach David Rubio said. “I thought they controlled the tempo of the game from the very first serve. We were always struggling just to hang in the game.”

The Bruins’ final hitting percentage after three games was a whopping .571, with senior outside hitter Kristee Porter leading the way with 20 kills.

Porter repeatedly found the floor throughout all three games from both the front and back rows.

But Porter was not the only Bruin putting the ball down. Bowles tallied 11 kills while Fendrick and junior middle blocker Angela Eckmeir added nine of eight of their own.

“We had a really balanced attack tonight,” Porter said. “I think we played an excellent match, and they just didn’t respond to us well. We executed very well.”

Facing the Sun Devils (5-6, 1-3) on Saturday posed a different kind of challenge to the Bruins – not letting down after a big game.

But the Bruin hitters came through again on Saturday, winning 30-19, 30-20, 30-24 with Porter, Fendrick and Bowles all recording kills in the double-digits.

Porter finished with a match-high 22 kills. Fendrick notched 15 of her own on a .560 hitting percentage while Bowles double-doubled with 10 kills and 13 digs.

“I’m pleased that we were able to come back and play with intensity and enthusiasm,” Banachowski said. “I think these two wins will restore the level of confidence that we had.”

The No. 8 Bruins (7-2, 2-1) face Washington and Washington State on the road this weekend.

With reports from Andrew Borders and Diamond Leung, Daily Bruin Senior Staff.