Wednesday, January 6, 1999
Bachman leads Bruins in Washington battles
PREVIEW: UCLA team hopes to capture spot in NCAA tournament
By Nick Taylor
Daily Bruin Contributor
The No. 16 UCLA women’s volleyball team has reached above .500
for the first time this season (11-10), and they are streaking
toward a strong tournament showing.
If the Bruins can finish with a record of .500 or better, the
NCAA will be hard-pressed to keep them out. Therefore, the Bruins
must win at least three of their last five matches.
On Friday, the Bruins will face Washington State, and on Sunday
they will do battle with Washington.
The Bruins will be led by Pac-10 Player of the Week Elisabeth
Bachman. Bachman hit .370 with 12 kills in three games against
Arizona State. Bachman then followed that performance with one of
the most dominant efforts of any player all year.
She had 17 kills in three games and had no errors, for a .654
hitting percentage – the highest hitting percentage of any Bruin
player this year.
She was UCLA’s second player to win the honor. Kristee Porter
won it earlier in the year after the UC Santa Barbara week.
When asked about it, Bachman just shrugs it off. "Oh, it’s no
big deal," she said.
It is a big deal, however, for Bruin opponents.
While Bachman has raised her numbers to 3.31 kills per game and
1.49 blocks per game, she has been a steady offensive force and
provided the inspirational plays the team needs.
"When Liz gets one of those blocks," Kristee Porter said, "it
just fires us up."
The Cougars are led by powerful Wendy Rouse (3.53 kills per
game), who hit 40 kills over the weekend. She is helped by Wendy
Blackshire (2.06), Joy Sperry (2.28) and Colleen Smith (2.25). But
the Cougars will be without star Jennifer Stinson (4.22 kills per
game), so the Bruins do catch a break.
Against the Huskies, UCLA must contend with Kristina Laffling,
who nearly single-handedly won the third game for the Huskies the
last time the teams met (a four-game UCLA victory).
She will have help from Leslie Tuiasosopo and Malena Thompson,
who both had double figures in kills against Oregon.
The matches will be crucial to UCLA’s tournament hopes. If they
keep up their impressive play of late, they will be in position to
come home from Washington, looking forward to the tournament.
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