BRIDGET O’BRIEN/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Kristee
Porter looks on as Ashley Bowles bumps a
serve from Oregon State. Tonight the Bruins take on Arizona
State.
By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
For the UCLA women’s volleyball team, five game matches
are not a desirable commodity.
But with a 1-3 record on the season in matches going to a
rally-scoring fifth game, the No. 13 Bruins (11-5 overall, 6-2
Pac-10) pulled out a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 5 Arizona
(14-2, 7-1) on Thursday night 15-13, 15-17, 15-17, 15-8, 16-4 in
Tucson, Ariz.
UCLA outside hitter Kristee Porter led the Bruins with her
second ever 20-20 match, with 35 kills and a career-high 26 digs,
while senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman added 21 kills and
eight blocks for the Bruins. Porter notched her fifth 30-kill match
on the season.
“We played tough tonight,” UCLA head coach Andy
Banachowski said in a statement, “and we played well. We did
a lot of different things tonight, using Cira Wright in the front
row for Erika (Selsor). We used that a lot more in the rally scored
fifth game, having (Ashley) Bowles set. I thought Erika got some
deflections in game four when Arizona’s hitters were getting
tired, and we were able to score in transition. It was an exciting
game.”
UCLA started sluggishly in game one, falling behind 8-2. Then
freshman outside hitter Ella Harley came to serve seven straight
points for the Bruins before the Wildcats could gain control with a
sideout.
Banachowski’s substitution of freshman middle blocker
Wright for Selsor with Arizona leading 13-10 proved to be the
difference for UCLA in the opening game. The Bruins rallied off
five consecutive points and took game one on Porter’s seventh
kill.
Game two saw a seesaw battle between both sides, as neither UCLA
nor Arizona could maintain more then a two-point advantage. The
Bruins were able to keep the score tight until they moved ahead
15-14 on a block by Bruin Lauren Fendrick. But a costly service
error by Harley gave Arizona the momentum needed to capture the
second game 17-15.
Game three was more of the same inconsistency and lack of
intensity which plagued the Bruins in game two. After falling
behind 10-5, UCLA rebounded to knot the score at 15.
The Bruins’ ensuing offensive possession was designed for
their go-to player, Porter. But the Wildcats anticipated the move
and blocked Porter to sideout and eventually took game three
17-15.
Trailing two games to one, the Bruins reached into their magic
bag to regain their focus. After hitting .371 to take game four
15-8, UCLA fought a tough battle in game five.
Again falling behind 8-5, the Bruins dug themselves out of yet
another deficit to tie the score at 11. The Bruins got behind 13-11
on a Lisa Rutledge kill, but Rutledge’s error on a rally
opened the door for a Bowles kill to give UCLA service. With Selsor
serving for the match, Porter hammered home her 35th kill to claim
the victory.
UCLA now sets its sights on Arizona State on Friday. The Sun
Devils haven’t had much success against the Bruins with a
5-43 lifetime record against the blue and gold. Moreso, Arizona
State holds a dismal 2-20 record since 1989, when current coach
Patti Snyder-Park took over the program. Banachowski’s squad
has won eight straight contests over the Sun Devils, dating back to
1995.
One player the Bruins must pay careful attention to is outside
hitter Amanda Burbridge. She leads the Sun Devils in kills with 304
(5.24 per game) and is second in the Pac-10 in that category behind
UCLA’s Porter. Burbridge also sits in the number two spot in
the conference with a 3.93 digs per game average. ASU’s go-to
player has recorded 13 double-doubles this season and has at least
20 kills in nine matches.