Bruin Volleyball Prevails in Five-Game Victory at Arizona
October 23, 1999 | Football
Oct. 22, 1999
TUCSON, Ariz. - It took two and a half hours, but the UCLA women's volleyball team stayed perfect in conference play and extended its winning streak to 17 matches with an 11-15, 15-6, 9-15, 16-14, 15-13 victory at Arizona. With the win, the Bruins are now 19-1, 11-0 Pac-10, while the Wildcats fall to 12-7, and 6-5 in the Pac-10.
The Bruins opened the match by losing their first game since October 5, snapping a string of 16 straight game wins. UCLA battled throughout the game, trailing by as many as six points (10-4). Sophomore Kristee Porter posted with 10 kills in the game, but it was not enough as Arizona prevailed, 15-11.
UCLA came right back in game two, starting with single-point leads, then building to a 6-1 cushion behind the service of sophomore setter Erika Selsor. From there, the Bruins never looked back, earning a 15-6 second game victory.
Arizona came out hot once again in game three, powering out a 5-1 lead before the Bruins pulled back to tie the game at 6-6. The Wildcats, however, didn't allow a change in momentum, accumulating a 10-6 lead and continuing to a 15-9 game win for Arizona.
The momentum didn't change for much of a closely fought fourth game. In fact, the Wildcats held the lead at 14-10 and served for match point three times. From that point, the Bruins scrapped back, slowly closing the gap and finishing off the 16-14 victory on a Michelle Quon ace.
In the rally-scored fifth game, Arizona held their largest lead at 5-3, but once again the Bruins fought back. Two consecutive kills by Porter tied it back up, and UCLA had the lead at the switch, up 8-7. UCLA held a 14-10 lead, but the tenacious Wildcats wouldn't go away, and fought back to 14-13. A kill by senior middle blocker Tamika Johnson ended the match with a 15-13 game-five Bruin victory.
"Tonight was a great win for this team," said UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski. "It was an important step for our maturity, winning a tough match on the road, and in five games."
Porter notched the sixth 30-kill match of her career, finishing with 36 and tying Natalie Williams for UCLA's lead in career 30-kill matches. Additionally, she is the only player in the Pac-10 to top the 30-kill mark in conference play during the 1999 season. Five Bruin starters finished with double-figure digs, including Porter, Ashley Bowles and Lauren Fendrick with 19 apiece, Quon with 13 and Selsor with 11.
UCLA finished with 15 team blocks, and were topped in that department by middle blockers Johnson and Elisabeth Bachman, who had one block solo and five block assists apiece.
UCLA returns home next weekend for Pac-10 matches against Washington and Washington State. The Bruins will face the Huskies on Thursday night and WSU on Friday. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts at Pauley Pavilion. Thursday evening's match against Washington will be available on broadcast.com.
