Friday, October 2, 1998
Young Bruin team’s cohesion settles in
RECAP: Volleyball squad excels in early matches when players
connect
By A.J. Cadman
Daily Bruin Staff
With their first five volleyball matches of the year against
five of the top 15 female volleyball programs in the nation and
without the services of recent graduates Kara Milling, Kim Coleman
and Tanisha Larkin, you would think head coach Andy Banachowski
would be slightly concerned. But the man with the most victories in
NCAA women’s volleyball history, who is entering his 32nd year in
Westwood, took it all in stride.
With a team composed of two seniors, one junior and the
remainder underclassmen, the UCLA Bruins have begun to gel as a
unit. They have found a sense of team chemistry that has proven
successful as of late.
On Sept. 16, the Bruins traveled to the Bay Area to take on the
Santa Clara Broncos in a non-conference match at Toso Pavilion.
UCLA continued to show a lack of continuity, and most of the young
starters were carrying their adaptation to the challenging
collegiate level.
Freshman setter Erica Selsor showed glimpses of 1997 Pacific 10
assist leader Kim Coleman and proved to be a valuable addition to
the second- best recruiting class for 1998.
Sophomore Elisabeth Bachman, who redshirted last season due to a
wrist injury and practiced with the U.S. National Team in the
offseason, began to establish herself from the beginning as the
team captain and leader, serving as a source for wisdom and advice
for the young Bruin squad.
Freshman Kristee Porter has turned heads with her amazing
leaping ability and powerful putaways and kills so early in her
Bruin career. Comparisons to Tanisha Larkin, a 1997 Pac-10
Honorable Mention, are an understatement to the potential that
Porter has and what she may become with the always apparent
devotion and work ethic she brings to the court every match.
With Coach Banachowski mixing lineups at the beginning of the
season that were able to establish a tempo early in matches that
would give UCLA momentum, the Bruins faced many obstacles and
struggles in the Santa Clara match.
The problems looked to be all but solved when conference play
began against the California Golden Bears two days later.
The underdog Broncos found out early that they could take
advantage of the young Bruin lineup and defeated UCLA 15-11, 15-6,
10-15, 15-13.
On Sept. 18, UCLA took its act up to Berkeley to take on Cal and
to open the Pac-10 schedule. The Bruins began the first game with
the intensity and momentum they sorely needed in their previous six
matches. They jumped ahead early and took the first game before
falling in game two to the Bears.
The capacity crowd at the Recreational Sports Facility witnessed
the transformation of UCLA – from a group of underclassmen trying
to establish an identity to a well-polished unit that easily
cruised to the following two-game victories. The match gave them
their first victory of the season and first place in Pac-10
play.
On Sunday afternoon, the Bruins completed the trio of Bay Area
matches with a trip to Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto to take on the
No. 9 ranked Stanford Cardinal.
Playing against the unmatched talent of perennial All-Americans
Lisa Sharpley and Kerri Walsh under the direction of head coach Don
Shaw, the Bruins would have to dig deep to beat the Cardinal. UCLA
almost came up the type of game that would beat most teams on any
day, except the Cardinal.
Led by the powerful outside hitting of Kristee Porter, the
Bruins surprised Stanford in the first game 15-13 and shocked the
crowd at Maples, making them think about a possible upset.
But Stanford answered back. With the emergence of freshman
Ashley Bowles in the second game of the match, the Bruins gave the
Cardinal a response that proved that the first game was no fluke.
With UCLA down 13-4, Kristee Porter completed a long and excited
volley, finishing with a rain of kills that eventually proved to be
too little, too late as UCLA dropped the second game to Stanford
15-10.
The third game proved to be the turning point of the match as
the Big Three of Bachman, Bowles and Porter showed a never-say-die
attitude that gave the Cardinal yet another scare, as Stanford and
UCLA traded points back and forth.
Sara Chambers and Walsh took charge for the Cardinal, escaping
with a 18-16 victory. They would go on to survive a late rally in
the fourth game led by Ashley Bowles to win 15-11 and capture the
match three games to one.
With a new sense of confidence, the Bruins returned to Westwood
to open up their home schedule at Pauley Pavilion Friday against
the Oregon Ducks. With two strong showings in Pac-10 play, the
Bruins felt prepared and lifted at taking on Oregon.
The first game showed a returned sense of miscommunication and
bad reads by the UCLA defense, which led to errors, net violations
and change in the score.
All-American Madeline Ernst showed a flair for powerful attacks
on the humbled UCLA defense. Bruin service errors and a lack of
cohesion, despite the consistent play of Porter and Bowles, led to
Oregon claiming victory in game one, 15-9.
Game two showed a looser and more relaxed Bruin squad that had
not been noticed for much of the season. The jump serving style of
Ashley Bowles added a noticeable smile to the face of Kristee
Porter, who claimed the game with a strong kill, ending the match
at 15-8.
The satisfaction that Coach Banachowski gave to his players
between games was not apparent in game three.
UCLA lost momentum early to the Ducks as Porter continued to
show a sense of consistency while Selsor’s quick decision-making
may have caused more problems for the Bruins.
Ernst’s two straight ace serves and Antoinette Polk’s three
touch kills took the game at 15-8 over UCLA.
The Bruins kept their composure as Bowles and Porter stepped up
the game on both ends and Bachman provided three key blocks before
capturing the victory and the match, 15-7.
On Sunday, UCLA hosted then Pac-10 leader Oregon State in hopes
of notching its 26th consecutive victory against the Beavers.
With Porter providing a glimpse of All-American potential and
the emergence of freshman Lauren Hogan, UCLA stormed to an early
lead in the game with the blocking services of Bachman at the
net.
With many spikes going into the net for the Bruins, Porter
provided the finishing touches for the game and helped the Bruins
claim game one, 15-11.
Game two saw junior Tamika Johnson come in and take over for the
Bruins as a spark plug. Alongside Porter on the outside hitting
position, UCLA captured the second game, 15-9.
Game three saw Bowles do practically everything for the Bruins
offensively.
Unfortunately, this proved not to be enough as UCLA lost game
three 15-13 in a heart-stopper to the Beavers. The Big Three
provided a strong fourth game and notched the third match victory
of the season for the Bruins, 15-9.
The Bruins are currently 3-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
Their next match is today at 6 p.m. against arch-rival Southern
California at North Gym.
Trojan Pac-10 star Jennifer Kessy and Jasmina Marinkovic should
prove to be a challenge for the Bruins, who are on a two-match
winning streak.
BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin
Oregon’s Julie Gerlach, left, makes a spike, but Amy Nihipali
(No. 17) blocks it at the game against the Ducks in Pauley Pavilion
last Friday.
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board