Bruins sweep away Ducks, Beavers on Oregon trail

  KEITH ENRIQUEZ/ Daily Bruin Senior Staff Freshman outside
hitter Ella Harley goes up for a kill in last
week’s match against Cal. UCLA d. Cal 4-1
UCLA d. Stanford 5-0

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

The UCLA women’s volleyball team came back to Westwood in
one piece this weekend following a rough journey through the Oregon
Trail.

The No. 8 Bruins (16-5, 11-2 Pac-10) managed to steal a
five-game victory over Oregon State (15-9, 5-7) with scores of
9-15, 7-15, 15-4, 15-10, 15-7 on Friday night. They continued along
the winning path with a three-game sweep over the Oregon Ducks
(9-12, 1-11) 15-9, 15-10, 15-7 on Saturday.

Friday’s showdown in Corvallis with the Beavers was
redemption for UCLA’s only home conference loss this
season.

“I thought we had a score to settle with them having come
down to Pauley Pavilion and beaten us at home,” UCLA head
coach Andy Banachowski said.

But Oregon State got out of the blocks quickly, racing out to a
5-0 lead in game one.

UCLA’s consistency and intensity had been question marks
all season until last weekend, when the Bruins worked out all the
kinks in back-to-back sweeps of Stanford and California at Pauley
Pavilion.

“We had gotten off a poor start. We played at slow motion
compared to how Oregon State had been playing,” Banachowski
said.

The Bruins mounted an early charge but fell behind 8-2 before a
timeout was called. Clawing as close as 10-7, UCLA hit .341 for the
game but had let Oregon State get too far ahead as the Beavers took
game one 15-9.

“We came in and thought that them beating us at home was
an accident. We might have underestimated that,” outside
hitter Kristee Porter said. “But it was a lack of intensity
that got us behind and was something we still have to work
on.”

The Bruins spotted the home team a 9-2 advantage in the second
game before mounting a 5-2 rally to bring the score to 11-7.

But UCLA was met with excellent net play from Oregon State. Four
straight points by the Beavers gave them the 15-7 victory in game
two and left UCLA with the arduous task of winning three straight
games to avoid a season sweep.

“We wanted to change the pace of our game emotionally and
mentally,” Banachowski said. “We flipped our lineup. We
matched up differently and were able to get the first five points
in the third game and go from there.”

Following the intermission, the Bruins raced out to a 5-0 lead,
led by a .447 game hitting average and brilliant setting from
junior Erika Selsor. Her four kills in game three complemented the
13 kill total by Porter and senior middle blocker Elisabeth
Bachman. Oregon fell to UCLA 15-4 and watched their momentum slip
away.

A 15-kill combined performance in game four by Porter and
Bachman slowed Oregon State, which had gone on a 7-2 run to knot
the score at 10-10. But the service games of senior defensive
specialist Michelle Quon and Selsor helped UCLA stake a 15-10
win.

The rally scoring game five saw five ties before UCLA pulled
away to an 8-5 lead. Junior Lauren Fendrick helped turn out the
lights and close the door with one of her nine kills on the evening
to extend the lead to 11-7.

Porter’s 30th kill and Bachman’s 20th allowed UCLA
to take the final game 15-7 and the match 3-2 games.

“I get into a rhythm sometimes. When the team needs me to
step up, I’ll put up a lot of kills,” Porter said.

Porter’s nation-leading seventh 30-kill match of the
season went along with 16 digs. Junior outside hitter Ashley Bowles
double-doubled with 10 kills and 16 digs on the night, while Selsor
had 64 assists and 15 digs in the double-double of her own.

Saturday night saw a more focused UCLA squad sweeping the cellar
dwelling Ducks 15-9, 15-10, 15-7 at McArthur Court. Defense at the
net was crucial as UCLA held a 9-1 block advantage for the match.
Fendrick recorded another double-double (10 kills, 10 digs, .450
hitting average), while the Bruins were led by Porter’s 22
kills (.421) and Bowles’ 10 kills.

“I thought we have been improving the past few weeks of
practice,” Banachowski said. “We hit over .300 in both
matches. Right now, it’s a matter of us getting ready on the
same page and playing hard at the start.”

The Bruins return home and face cross-town rival USC in a
rematch of their only other Pac-10 loss this season. Friday’s
first serve is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.

“I’m excited for the USC game,” Porter said.
“It’s what we have been focusing on for Friday.
Emotions will be high as always.”