Porter bumps team record to top

Thursday, October 29, 1998

Porter bumps team record to top

FEATURE: Freshman star of squad isn’t about to let

success get to her head

By Nick Taylor

Daily Bruin Contributor

Freshman Kristee Porter won player of the week honors, lead the
team in kills all year long, and was a three-sport star in high
school. Success seems to come easily for Porter. So it would seem
that she has an ego to match her accomplishments, right?

Not at all. Porter is a well-rounded player who does not revel
in her achievements. Instead, Porter is ready to do whatever helps
the team ­ even if it means long practices. They "really help
me as a player and our team as well," she said.

While Porter is happy with her performance this year, it makes
her much happier if the team wins than if she personally has a good
game. Despite having over 20 kills in numerous matches, she feels
that if she is not at a .400 hitting percentage, she is not doing
her job.

Before coming to UCLA, Porter was most concerned about attending
a school with a winning program. She felt UCLA, more than Texas and
Florida, best met that winning requirement. She also said, "I
needed to get out of Texas," and added that she really wanted a
school with strong academics. Porter said she got the best of both
worlds at UCLA: "I got a comfortable school (for myself) and one I
thought would win".

Coming to UCLA meant moving away from home, but Porter has
adjusted well and says that the transition has not been difficult
for her. "Tamika (Johnson) has been great for me," Porter said.
"She has given me lots of support."

Porter has also become friends with everyone on the team. They
build camaraderie on the court and encourage each other when
someone makes a mistake. The Bruins bond through study hall during
the week. "Sometimes it’s hard to just study," Porter said, because
"we end up just talking ."

Not only has she had an easy time making friends, she has found
time to dominate on the volleyball court. While helping lead the
No. 20 Bruins (9-9, 8-3 in Pac-10) to a six-game winning streak,
her 4.86 kills per game are good enough for third place in the
Pac-10. And her 2.38 digs per game are third on the team.

The Bruins have become a more cohesive team as the season has
progressed, and Porter feels this was due to their familiarity with
each other. "Knowing the rotation and each other’s tendencies has
helped us communicate with each other," she said.

Porter also noted that since the Bruins have so many valuable
players on the team, every player has been vital to their
success.

Porter, however, did give out praise to Elisabeth Bachman and
Michelle Quon. "Michelle is great; she just gets everything
defensively," Porter said. "When Elisabeth gets one of those
straight down blocks, that just fires the whole team up."

She is pleased the team has reached .500 (nine wins and nine
losses) and feels that the team can continue to improve. In fact,
she has high aspirations for UCLA. "I really see a National
Championship in the future of this program".

For the present, though, Porter is focusing on the next
opponent. "We’re taking things one game at a time," she said.

While the Bruins are ranked in the polls, those standings don’t
mean too much to her. "We don’t pay too much attention to the
rankings, because any team can beat any other on a given
night".

During the Bruins’ resurgence, Porter has been a constant factor
in Pac-10 play. Her consistent production from the outside hitter
spot has proved to be the deciding factor in recent matches against
UC Santa Barbara, Oregon, and Washington. Against Santa Barbara,
she posted 38 kills and 24 digs, breaking UCLA freshman
records.

Despite her early success, Porter feels she can improve greatly.
"I can improve in every area of the game, especially my
defense".

With UCLA playing cross-town rival USC this Friday, the Bruins
and Porter must focus on their defense and stopping the Trojans’
Jennifer Kessy.

"I’m very excited to be playing USC", Porter said, "I want to
come back and improve (on my last match against the Trojans)".

In that match USC downed UCLA in four sets, behind Kessy’s 27
kills. While Porter had 19 kills of her own, she hit under .200,
well below her own standards. "I try to get to .500; that’s a good
game for me," she said

Porter was a three-sport star in high school (volleyball, track
and basketball), and said that she might give basketball a try this
year. "Volleyball is my first priority", but said that "I really,
really want to play basketball as well."

The only thing stopping Porter is her scholarship, which only
allows her to play volleyball and track. If she had a basketball
scholarship, she could play any sport she wished, because a
basketball scholarship has highest priority for UCLA.

Technicalities seem to be the only obstacle Porter must overcome
at UCLA. With Porter’s excellent play and high standards, UCLA can
feel good about its chances not only against USC this week, but in
the future as well.

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