NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin Elisabeth "Wiz"
Bachman is a senior middle blocker and captain of the UCLA
women’s volleyball team who leads her team both on and off the
court.
By Christina Teller
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
If you watch senior middle blocker Elisabeth “Wiz”
Bachman on the volleyball court after she stuffs an opposing
player’s kill, you know she’s having fun. Once the
whistle blows to end the play, she turns around to celebrate with
her teammates. To her, that’s what it’s all about.
“When anyone gets a block, it’s such an intense
moment and it’s so exciting,” Bachman said with a
smile. “Everyone gets so excited when anyone gets a block,
and it’s a feeling of excitement that goes through the entire
team.”
Bachman, at 6 feet 4 inches, leads UCLA in blocks and hitting
percentage, with 127 total and .350 on the season respectively, but
what is most important to Bachman, who is team captain for the
third year in a row, is keeping everyone together and making sure
they’re all involved.
Having sat out her second year at UCLA due to a wrist injury she
suffered during the World University Games, Bachman returned to the
squad in 1998 more ready than ever.
“(The injury) was devastating at the time, but when I look
back on it now, it was kind of a blessing in disguise,”
Bachman explained.
In her first year back after the injury, she was nominated as
team captain. It was the same year that today’s starting
core, in Kristee Porter, Erika Selsor and Ashley Bowles, were
freshmen. They’ve been building together as a team since
then.
“I’m really fortunate to play with all of them this
year, when we’re a more experienced group, because
we’ve been playing together for the past three years,”
Bachman said.
The team has had the chance to grow together over the past
years, and Bachman got to be a part of it this year, ironically,
because of the medical redshirt that she elected to take during her
second year.
Her 1997 season was not spent on the court with her teammates,
but she wasn’t any less a part of the team. Limited use of
her right arm didn’t stop Wiz from attending 2 1/2 hour
practices a day and peppering with her coach, even though she could
only use her left hand.
“I never did so much cardio in my life,” Bachman
recounted. “I would do half-hour on the bike, half-hour on
the stairmaster, half-hour on the treadmill. So I’d be with
the team practicing everyday; watching them really makes you want
to get out there again, especially when (you) can only use one
arm.”
The experience has made her a stronger, more determined
player.
But then again, she’s always been determined. When she
started playing volleyball in 7th grade, it didn’t exactly
come naturally.
“I was one of the worst players. I sat on the
“˜B’ team bench,” she said laughing. “I
never played. I would go out on the court and trip over my own
feet, and when I got a serve over the net all the parents would
cheer.”
But the cheers now come for a different reason, namely a
powerful kill or a stifling block. Coming this far is something
that Bachman has always wanted to do, even though it didn’t
seem very realistic in the beginning.
And the fact that she has come this far is due to her life
experiences. She came to school in California despite her home
being in Minnesota. She recovered from an injury that required
surgery to regain full movement of her wrist. She has 11 years of
volleyball experience. Most importantly, she has a positive outlook
and demeanor that influences her teammates.
“She’s a really good source of positive energy for
us and can relate to us off the court as well as on, which is
sometimes just as important,” Selsor said.
“She’s very outgoing and works really hard and is
very consistent with her play and always gives 100 percent, and it
shows,” middle blocker Ella Harley said. “She’s
played volleyball much longer than I have and middle for much much
longer than I have. She’s always there to help me out and let
me know little hints to help me get better.”
In a team sport like volleyball, in which players depend on all
five of their teammates to be in the right place at the right time,
cohesiveness is essential.
This is one aspect in particular that Bachman does her best to
promote on the court.
“I try to keep people involved in the game and just let
them know that if they make a mistake or if something goes wrong,
that we’re all there together and we can work through
it,” Bachman explained.
Confidence and maturity are two main factors that allow Bachman
to keep such a positive outlook. These are things she’s built
through her last four years at UCLA and through such experiences as
competing in the World University Games and coaching at summer
camps.
“We rely on her for her senior leadership,” Selsor
said. “She’s been around in the sport and around here
for awhile. She’s been out there, she’s been through a
lot of situations, she’s just older in general.”
Though Bachman may not have planned on staying five years when
she entered UCLA, it turned out for the best, both for her and her
teammates.