Freshman middle blocker Zoë Nightingale and the No. 1 Bruins received welcome and added support in Cal’s Haas Pavilion on Friday night.

The support came from students at St. Francis High School, Nightingale’s alma mater. The girls’ volleyball team from St. Francis and Nightingale’s cousin’s volleyball team were both in attendance to support UCLA, along with friends and family.

They wore pink shirts with the slogan “Got Zoë?” to show their support for both the Bruins and breast cancer awareness.

“Zoë definitely stepped up on Friday. That was one of the best games she’s had so far,” junior outside hitter Rachael Kidder said.

“She was playing really smart. She was doing everything she was supposed to do, trying to hit with more range, and she did really well.”

Coach Mike Sealy has seen Nightingale’s game develop this year and believes that the support she received this weekend helped motivate her inspired play.

“She had tons of family and friends at the Berkeley game. It was obvious that she was well supported,” he said.

“I think that made her feel pretty special and she played great.”

Set up for success

Senior setter Lauren Van Orden helped orchestrate the Bruins’ offense and defense over the weekend.

Friday marked her team-leading ninth double-double of the season.

Coach Sealy emphasized Van Orden’s contributions to the team and her important role in the squad’s offensive and defensive game plans.

“Lauren’s been lights out – she’s probably one of the most unsung, underrated players in the league,” he said.

“I don’t know if she gets as much credit as she deserves, but it’s nice to hear even opposing coaches telling me before we play how impressed they are watching the scouting videos of how well she’s playing.”

Nightingale also cited Van Orden’s stellar play and leadership.

“She was doing really well this weekend,” Nightingale said about Van Orden’s performance.

“She brought a lot of really good energy this weekend so I thought that was really helpful.”

Leading the Pac-12

After beating two of the nation’s top teams, UCLA (20-3, 13-2 Pac-12) finds itself sitting pretty atop the Pac-12 conference tied for first with No. 4 USC (18-4, 13-2).

While they feel their standing and the recognition that comes with it is deserved, the players are trying not to focus on the numbers and instead are trying to finishing the season strong.

“It’s nice to be at the top, but it kind of puts a target on us,” Nightingale said.

“The coaches try to help us not focus on that … but instead on how we’re playing.”

The team is gathering steam heading into the final stretch of the season and face only one more road trip to play Oregon and Oregon State the week after next.

For now, the Bruins will enjoy their wins and prepare to host Washington and Washington State this weekend.