Daily Bruin File Photo Kristee Porter will be
training with the U.S. National Team.
By Diamond Leung
DAILY BRUIN SENIOR [email protected]
Former UCLA women’s volleyball players Kristee Porter and
Elisabeth “Wiz” Bachman have been selected to train
with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo.
After playing for United States Professional Volleyball in its
inaugural season, Porter and Bachman will be making their second
appearance with the National Team.
Porter tore up the USPV as a member of the Chicago Thunder,
garnering Offensive Player of the Year honors by registering a
league-high 16.1 kills per match. The outside hitter was also
second in aces, fifth in digs and sixth in blocks.
After completing her volleyball eligibility this season at UCLA,
Porter, the two-time All-American left school early for the USPV.
It now appears that she is there to stay.
“I enjoyed every minute of this,” Porter said in a
statement. “It was a ton of fun playing in this league. I
can’t wait to start playing next year.”
Bachman starred at middle blocker for the Minnesota Chill,
finishing second in the league with 3.5 blocks per match. She also
notched 7.1 kills per match.
The 2001 UCLA alumnus was a force in the middle for four years
as a Bruin.
Sunday Bachman’s Chill defeated Porter’s Thunder in
Chicago 25-17, 25-18, 25-27, 20-25, 15-11, winning a best-of-five
series 3-1 to capture the first-ever USPV championship.
Porter registered 22 kills and 4.5 blocks in the match, but it
was not enough to send the series to a fifth match.
“We didn’t want to go out in three games,”
Porter said in a statement. “We weren’t prepared for
the season to end like that.”
But now, she gets to train with the nation’s best and play
against the world’s best.
“Concentrating on only volleyball will do wonders for
(Porter’s) game,” UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski said
in January. “She will be tremendous on the international
level.”