University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Hawaii
Bruin Volleyball Swept by Hawai'i in Hawaiian Airlines Classic Championship
September 04, 2000 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2000
HONOLULU, HI - The UCLA Bruins were swept in the championship match of the Hawaiian Airlines Rainbow Wahine Classic on Monday night, with game scores of 15-8, 16-14, 15-12. With the loss, the Bruins fall to 3-2 on the 2000 season, while Hawaii improves to 3-0 on the season. Junior Kristee Porter was named to the All-Tournament Team, while Ashley Bowles was named to her third consecutive Hawaiian Airlines Classic All-Tournament Team.
As would be expected in a match between two of the top ranked teams in the country, the Bruins and Rainbow Wahine staged a hotly contested battle in the early parts of the first game. UCLA went out to an early 3-0 lead, but Hawaii quickly came back to tie the match at 4-4. The Bruins would regain the lead at 7-6 before the Wahine advanced to an 11-7 lead and prompting Bruin head coach Andy Banachowski to call his final timeout of the game. Unfortunately, the Bruins were unable to turn the tide, and lost the opening game by a 15-8 margin. In the game, the Bruins hit .231 as a team compared to Hawaii's .350, but out-blocked the Wahine 3-1.
It was a similar scene in the second game of the match. UCLA again took a 3-0 lead to start the game on the service of senior co-captain Michelle Quon. The Bruins held the lead to the 6-6 mark. The Wahine were beginning to pull away at 8-6, when the media timeout took place. Unfortunately, Hawai'i just picked up steam from there, and after two rallies that built the lead to 10-6, Banachowski called a timeout of his own. The Bruins proceeded to rebound behind the service of Ashley Bowles, cutting the lead to just one point.
Freshman Alyssa Rylander then came in to serve and brought the game to a 12-12 tie, leading to Hawaii's final timeout of the game. The Bruins pulled out to a 14-13 lead and Porter had the chance to serve for game point, but UH's Lily Kahumoku downed a kill to stop the rally. A string of Bruin errors followed, and Hawai'i went to the locker rooms with a 2-0 lead, taking game two by a 16-14 margin.
The third game of the match started very differently than the first two. The Wahine opened with a 3-0 lead, but the Bruins battled back and eventually took a 12-6 lead. On the way to that score, Hawai'i captain Veronica Lima was given a yellow card at 10-4 for delaying the game by discussing a call with the up referee, Wayne Lee. UH called its first timeout at while trailing 12-6. Hawai'i was able to scrap back into the match, eventually taking a 13-12 lead. After a UCLA timeout, the Bruins were able to put together four straight sideouts, but the Rainbows were able to pull out the match with a 15-12 game win.
"We had some unforced errors at some critical times tonight," said Banachowski. "I wish we could have kept Kristee (Porter) in the front row at the end, but we just weren't in position to do that."
Porter finished not only with tournament MVP honors, but with 23 kills, nine digs and a block solo as well. Ashley Bowles was also in double-figure kills, checking in with 10. For the match, the Bruins hit .163, a season-low total, were out-blocked by a 10-9 margin.
The Bruins will be in Los Angeles for just 31 hours this week, as the team will take a red-eye flight home from Hawaii, landing at LAX at 5:40 a.m. Tuesday. On Wednesday, the Bruins depart for Notre Dame shortly after noon, and will face No. 4 Nebraska, No. 16 Michigan State and No. 22 Notre Dame at the Adidas Invitational next weekend. In the latest AVCA/USA Today Coaches Poll which was released on Monday, UCLA is currently ranked third, although they retained 10 first-place votes.
