BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Junior
Erika Selsor sets up kills during UCLA’s 3-0
win over Washington State University.
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
UCLA junior setter Erika Selsor has never been described as
prototypical.
On a team of unique talent and character with a chemistry that
has propelled the Bruin women’s volleyball team to a top-10
national ranking, Selsor’s role and personality on this
year’s squad is one all her own.
“Erika is somewhat social or least more so than she used
to be,” said senior defensive specialist Michelle Quon,
Selsor’s roommate. “She’s a really good person.
What she lacks in physical height, she makes up for in the mental
game. She can do it all.”
Selsor modestly puts herself in a class almost by herself.
“I am not your typical UCLA setter,” said the
5-foot-6 Selsor, referring to the taller players the program has
consistently recruited to set in recent years. “I would tend
to compare myself to a player like Holly McPeak.”
“I think what makes Erika stand out is her
competitiveness,” head coach Andy Banachowski said.
“She wants to win and she brings everyone else along. Her
floor leadership is a tremendous quality that makes her a great
setter.”
The 1999 All-Pac-10 Conference First-Teamer grew up in an
environment different to what many have encountered in life in the
big city. Her hometown of Linden, Calif., just 10 miles east of
Stockton, is a far cry from the hustle and bustle of Los
Angeles.
“Linden is a small farming community with a lot of
orchards,” Selsor said of where she grew up. “There are
only two large roads there. It’s very agricultural.
It’s a small town; everyone knows everyone. There’s no
gas station and only one market.
“It’s so rural that there’s essentially
nothing to do there unless you farm,” she said jokingly.
But regardless of where one is from, volleyball is played the
same way everywhere.
For Selsor, however, the style of play may be the same but the
manner with which she approaches the game is strikingly
different.
“I think of myself as intense, fiery, aggressive and
determined,” Selsor said. “For me, it’s not so
much that people say, “˜She is a gifted athlete.’
Rather, it’s that it comes down to hard work and
perseverance.
“I love to play volleyball. I love to compete with people
and I love winning. It’s about getting the job
done.”
Her teammates have noticed this.
“She is such a great leader on the court,” junior
opposite hitter Ashley Bowles said. “She’s a little
fireball. It’s always been fun to play with her.”
The setter position is probably the most vocal position in the
offense.
Handling the setup on every Bruin possession, Selsor’s has
molded herself, one of the most integral pieces of the
Bruins’ national championship puzzle, into a model of
consistency.
“She’s more comfortable with running the team and
she’s a great left-side setter,” Banachowski said.
“She’s gotten a lot more comfortable setting the back
ball, which was one of her weaknesses when she came here.
“I think that’s helped us develop a balanced attack
because she can set the ball wherever.”
Much of that stems from the direction of the coaching staff.
“Andy (Banachowski) has taught me so much. I have gotten
so much better since I first arrived here,” Selsor said of
her metamorphosis into one of the nation’s premier collegiate
setters.
Handling the arduous responsibilities and numerous tasks that
comprise running such a potent offense with the likes of Bowles,
junior outside hitter Kristee Porter, senior middle blocker
Elisabeth Bachman and sophomore middle blocker Lauren Fendrick,
Selsor sets the tempo for a healthy combination of different looks
that keeps opposing defense off balance.
Her deceptive plays of misdirection and soft touch kills are
vital to keeping the opposition from singling out any one player of
the UCLA attack.
Also for Selsor, adding the jump serve has helped mixed things
up for the Bruins.
“I spent a lot of time in the off-season on my service
game,” Selsor said of her summer training regimen.
“Andy, (assistant coach) Kim (Jagd) and I wanted me to
become more consistent on my jump serves and work on my technique
so that it would not hurt my back. I also wanted to improve on the
topspin I put on it to give the defense less options to set
up,” she added.
When she came to UCLA on her official visit, Selsor was
contemplating only one other school, Texas A&M. No matter which
school she’d end up at, however, Selsor already set lofty
goals to meet before her college career ended.
“I wanted to be a national champion, which is what this
team has really put a focus on,” she said.
Starting the preseason as the hunted, atop both the AVCA and
Volleyball Magazine collegiate polls, Selsor was not sure how the
Bruins would respond against a number of ranked teams before the
conference schedule even started.
“I didn’t know how we would do against some of the
top teams early in the season,” she said. “We have had
some disappointments like Colorado State and Nebraska that we
should not have lost. That’s always tough to start the season
No. 1 because everyone’s out to get you.
“I try to keep talking on the court all the time. We
definitely have the talent to beat anyone. We are headed in the
right direction. We just need to stay consistent and
fluid.”
For UCLA, it is vital that Selsor remain a fixture in the
lineup, having played in every game in her first two seasons in
Westwood. The Bruins are 44-16 with her in the starting lineup as
she notched more than 1,500 assists in each of her first two
seasons. In addition to her physical play, her mental attitude and
approach have been displayed to the rest of the ballclub.
“She’s intense; you can see it all over her
face,” Quon said. “As a freshman during a timeout, I
remember her yelling at the team to get them fired up. I had never
seen a young player like that do that before.”
It’s like what Jack Nicholson said in “A Few Good
Men,” one of Selsor’s favorite films: “We live in
a world with walls guarded by men with guns.” That just one
of many lines Selsor can boastfully recite from the movie, but
it’s definitely one she plays by, because it’s Selsor
patrolling the net in the Bruins’ quest to bring a national
title back to Westwood.