MINDY ROSS/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Freshman outside
hitter Alyssa Rylander prepares to bump the ball
in UCLA’s Sept. 14 game against Washington.
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff With five-sixths of their 1999 core back
on the court in 2000, the UCLA women’s volleyball team is in
good standing for a championship run in the new millennium.
“We’re very excited with the group we have this
year,” outside hitter Ashley Bowles said. “We have a
lot of depth. We came in with a lot of freshmen who are adding to
the group, and we’re returning five starters. It’s
going to be a very exciting season.” Awarded the preseason
rank of No. 1, the Bruins dove head first into their preseason of
tough competition, including seven matches against top 25
opponents. “I think that everybody has worked very hard in
the off-season, so we felt pretty gratified that the hard work was
being recognized by coaches and writers across the country,”
head coach Andy Banachowski said.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE Â
Date   Opponent
Outcome/Time 08/25 08/26 09/01 09/03
09/04
09/08
09/09
09/10
09/14
09/15
09/22
09/23
09/28
09/29
10/06
10/12
10/13
10/19
10/20
10/27
10/28
11/03
11/07
11/10
11/11
11/16
11/17
11/24
11/25
 @ Penn @ Florida/Colorado St.Iowa (@ Hawaii) Texas
A&M Â Â Â (@ Hawaii) @ Hawaii Michigan State
   (@ Notre Dame) Notre Dame    (@
Notre Dame) Nebraska    (@ Notre Dame) Washington
Washington State @ Cal @ Stanford Oregon State Oregon @ USC @
Arizona @ Arizona State Stanford Cal @ Oregon State @ Oregon USC
Pepperdine Arizona State Arizona @ Washington State @ Washington
Connecticut    (@ Texas) Baylor/UNLV
   (@ Texas)  W, 3-2 L, 3-2 W, 3-0 L, 3-0
L, 3-0
W, 3-1
W, 3-0
L, 3-2
W, 3-0
W, 3-0
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
6:00 PM
7:00 PM MT
7:00 PM MT
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
7:00 PM
TBA
TBA
 SOURCE: Sports Info (schedule is tentative) Original by
JACOB LIAO/Daily Bruin Web Adaptation by HERNANE TABAY/Daily Bruin
Senior Staff “We really saw it as an honor that everybody
thought that we could be the top team in the country.
They picked up right where they left off in 1999 ““ by
defeating defending national champion and then-No. 2 Penn State in
a tough five game match at the State Farm Classic on Aug. 25. Last
year, a loss to the Nittany Lions in the semi-final round of the
NCAA tournament ended UCLA’s season. With few new faces in
their regular lineup, the Bruins have worked hard and started the
season with a bang.
Outside Hitters Still slamming the opposition is hard-hitting
junior Kristee Porter. As a Player of the Year candidate, Porter
has already notched her second match of the season with at least 30
kills, breaking the Pac-10 record she began setting last season.
Porter led the Pac-10 last season in kills per game with an average
of 5.5 per game, and became the second fastest player to reach
1,000 career kills in NCAA history. She dominates as a server and
on defense in the back row, already posting 10 aces and 116 digs in
38 games. “I think everybody recognizes what an outstanding
athlete Kristee is,” Banachowski said. “Kristee is not
one to not work hard once we get into practice. Everybody is happy
to have a teammate like that.”
USA TODAY/AVCA POLL This poll for women’s
volleyball was lastupdated 09/18/2000. Â Â 1.
Nebraska 2. Hawaii 3. Penn St. 4. Colorado State 5. USC 6. Long
Beach State 7. UCLA 8. Pepperdine 9. Minnesota 10. Arizona 11.
Stanford 12. Florida 13. UC Santa Barbara 14. Wisconsin 15. BYU 16.
Pacific 17. Michigan State 18. Utah 19. Santa Clara 20. Kansas
State  SOURCE: www.espn.com *poll data released
every Monday Original by JACOB LIAO/Daily Bruin Web Adaptation by
HERNANE TABAY/Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Key at both the serving line as well as at the net is Bowles, a
junior. With her all-around ability, Bowles led the Bruins last
year in digs with 330 and in aces with 30. She is also the
off-setter when the starting setter is helping out on defense.
Setter Setting the Bruins is Erika Selsor in her third year as
the creator of the offense, which led the conference and ranked
third in the nation last season in kills per game with 17.71.
Having led the Pac-10 in assists in 1999 with 14.12 per game,
Selsor has worked with her offense during the two previous seasons
and will continue their chemistry into the next.
Middle Blockers In the middle, fifth-year senior Elisabeth
Bachman dominates at the net, both offensively and defensively.
Second in the nation last year in hitting percentage with a .429
clip and tied for first in the Pac-10 in blocks per game with 1.33,
Bachman returns for her final season ready to continue her reign.
Already posting a .301 hitting percentage in the opening matches of
the regular season, Bachman looks to be on track for another
stellar season. Having lost 6-foot-2 junior middle blocker Angela
Eckmier to an ACL injury, the Bruins were forced to regroup early
on and train others more heavily for the position. Six-foot
redshirt freshman Ella Harley has stepped up for the Bruins and
adds quickness to the front line. Though she’s a few inches
shy of Eckmier’s height, Harley makes up for it with her
aggressive play at the net, including four kills in the
Bruins’ victory over Penn State. “When we lost Angela
Eckmier, I think that hurt a little bit of our continuity,”
Banachowski said. “Ella Harley stepped in and is doing a
great job at the middle, but she’s kind of learning that
position. Everyday we’re getting better and better as Ella
learns more.” Having worked her way into a starting position,
sophomore Lauren Fendrick has provided aggressive play at the net
along with consistent defense in the back row. Fendrick led the
team in digs against Washington State with 12, and tallied 11 kills
and two assisted blocks.
Defensive Specialists Dominating the backcourt is senior
defensive specialist Michelle Quon, in her fourth season as a
relentless force. Though she is on the court for only half a
rotation, Quon came in second in digs with only 28 less than team
leader Ashley Bowles in 1999. A new force in the back row has been
freshman defensive specialist Stacy Lee. With 16 digs in the
regular season, Lee is neck-and-neck with Quon in her current
tally.
Outlook Without a consistent serve, a team cannot win. It is the
jump serve that Bowles, Porter and now Selsor smack at their
opponent that is a key factor in their winning game. Against
Washington, serving was their main tool in shutting down the
opposing attack. “I thought their attack was going to be a
lot stronger. We served them out of their attack and forced them
into a lot of errors,” Banachowski said. “Our serving
kept them from being able to generate and run their offense.”
UCLA sports only half of their starters under six feet, with an
average height of 5-11 in their regular starters. But what they
lack in size, they make up with their quick attack. “I like
the way we were able to counter-attack and attack with our
quickness. We have good size, but we don’t have great size,
so we have to use the quickness that we have,” Banachowski
said after the team beat Washington. All-around talent will drive
the Bruins through their regular season into postseason position.
“I think that all-around we cover every position and every
skill very well,” Bowles said. “We play defense well,
pass very well and run a quick offense.” With four Pac-10
teams in the top 25, including No. 5 USC and No. 11 Stanford, the
Bruins will face more tough competition up ahead in pursuit of the
Pac-10 crown, which they shared with Stanford last year.
“Every team in the Pac-10 is a great team,” Bachman
said. “Between “˜SC and Stanford, it’s going to be
a run for the money for who brings it out at the end.” With
the Pac-10 season already underway, UCLA has a 2-0 conference
record and is 7-3 overall. After two conference games they occupy
the No. 7 spot and are in good position for a postseason run.
“That seems to be a hard spot to hold onto this year,”
Banachowski said of the No. 1 ranking. “There’s a lot
of good teams out there. Looks like everybody’s going to take
turns knocking each other around a little bit,” Banachowski
said. “I think we’re capable of being a championship
team. We’re going to be solid and we’re going to be
mature,” Banachowski said. “We can be in position where
we can get into the final four. That’s our goal.”
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL STARTERS Â
Kristen Porter(Jr.) Outside Hitter, 5’11
Elizabeth Backman(Sr.)
Middle Blocker, 6’3
Ashley Bowles(Jr.)
Outside Hitter, 6’0
Lauren Fendrick(So.) Outside Hitter, 6’2
Michelle Quon(Sr.)
Defensive Specialist, 5’5
Erica Sulsor(Jr.)
Setter, 5’6
 Key Substitutes
Ella Harley(So.)
Outside Hitter, 6’0
Stacey Lee(Fr.)
Defensive Specialist
Alyssa Rylander(Fr.)
Outside Hitter, 5’10
SOURCE: Sports Info Original by JACOB LIAO/Daily Bruin Web
Adaptation by HERNANE TABAY/Daily Bruin Senior Staff