By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
For the UCLA women’s volleyball team, starting the season
with the top ranking in the nation had less to do about winning and
more about having everything to lose.
“(The top ranking) does add some pressure,” UCLA
outside hitter Kristee Porter said. “It’s still really
early. We are still getting our chemistry together as a
team.”
After a stellar performance on Friday afternoon at the State
Farm Women’s Volleyball Classic against the No. 2 Penn State
Nittany Lions (1-1), the No. 1 Bruins (1-1) fell in the
championship match to the
No. 15 Colorado State Rams (2-0) 15-8, 8-15, 15-12, 11-15, 17-15
in Gainesville, Fla. on Saturday.
In their second straight five-set match in as many days, UCLA
opened an early 3-0 lead that they soon relinquished to the Rams.
An 8-2 scoring stretch by Colorado State, aided by five consecutive
hitting errors by the Bruins, helped lead them to the opening set
victory.
The Bruins bounced right back, led by superb net play from
senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman and junior opposite Ashley
Bowles. Combining for a solo block and an assist apiece, UCLA
proceeded to take the second set.
“I was really proud of our freshman,” Porter said of
the Bruins’ confidence in their newcomers. “They played
like veterans this weekend and that was a boost for us.”
The Bruins then faced a draining 38-minute third set. UCLA
jumped out to a 6-3 advantage. A 5-2 stretch by Colorado State
afterward evened the set at 8-8. The Rams put the handcuffs on the
Bruins to steal the 15-12 set victory.
The Bruins would again regroup for 15-11 fourth set win before
setting the stage for a final stand in the fifth. UCLA went
point-for-point with Colorado State to bring the score to match
point at 14-11.
With a golden opportunity to defeat two ranked teams in two
days, win a tournament championship and start the season undefeated
atop the rankings, the Bruins allowed the chance to slip through
their fingers.
“We handled (consecutive five set matches) alright,”
said Bruin junior setter Erika Selsor. “Saturday’s
match didn’t go five because we got fatigued. We just
didn’t play as sharp as we did on Friday.”
A Bachman kill gave UCLA a 15-14 match point situation. But a
Bruin hitting error by National Player of the Year candidate Porter
after a Colorado State kill gave the Rams a 16-15 lead. Then a
block by Colorado State at the net off Porter preserved the match
victory.
“If you have a money player, you’re going to go to
her,” said UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski, “and
that’s what Kristee Porter is for us. Colorado State played
well, but we squandered some opportunities. I thought we would pull
it out tonight, but we were a few kills short.”
Porter and Selsor, were named to the State Farm Women’s
Volleyball Classic Tournament team.
On Friday, UCLA opened the 2000 schedule by defeating
second-ranked and defending NCAA champion Penn State 8-15, 15-12,
15-2, 13-15 and 15-12.
They gained revenge on their tournament loss to the Nittany
Lions in the Central Regional final last season. The Bruins
struggled in the opening game of the match, giving the Nittany
Lions an 8-0 lead before scoring a point in the game. The Bruins
battled back to get close in the first set 8-7, but were not able
to claw any closer.
In game two, it was a back-and-forth battle with six ties before
Penn State began to pull away after 9-9. This time, however, the
Bruins were able to reel Penn State in, tying the score at 12-12 on
Lauren Fendrick’s service ace and eventually pulling away for
the 15-12 win.
“We are still working out some of the kinks in our
game,” Porter said. “But it was really exciting to get
started and show what we we’ve worked on during the
offseason.”
A 15-2 third game win for UCLA was led by Porter, who checked in
eight of her 30 kills in that game alone. Game four quickly became
a see-saw battle that saw the Bruins fight off nine straight game
points, before a service ace by Penn State’s Katie Schumacher
ended it at 15-13 and sent the match into the fifth game.
The Bruins opened with the serve, and inched out to a 1-0 lead
on a Fendrick kill. Porter notched the backbreaker that ended the
match with a 15-12 game five victory for the Bruins.
“We had some rough edges tonight, but I’m pleased
with our starting point for the season,” Banachowski said.
“It was our first match out, we need to smooth out our
offense a little bit … but I’m pleased with what I saw
tonight.”
Porter posted her ninth 30-kill match of her career ““ the
top total by any player in Pac-10 history. Three additional Bruins,
Bachman, Fendrick and Bowles, posted double figure kills, having
16, 12 and 11, respectively.
The top-ranked Bruins now travel to Honolulu to participate at
the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Sept. 1-4.