Bruins secure victory over Pepperdine in close match

  JESSE PORTER/Daily Bruin Senior Staff Ella
Harley spikes the ball in UCLA’s victory over USC on
Friday. The Bruins swept 12th-ranked Pepperdine last night, three
games to none. UCLA 15-12, 15-13, 15-1
Pepperdine

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

For the first two games Tuesday night, the UCLA women’s
volleyball team got caught in the crashing swells of the Pepperdine
Waves, but somehow won both games. But in game three, solid defense
and efficient play helped the No. 7 Bruins (18-5) ride smoothly to
a 15-12, 15-13, 15-1 sweep of No. 12 Pepperdine (20-5) in the
Bruins’ only non-conference home match of the 2000
campaign.

Junior outside hitter Kristee Porter led all attackers with 14
match kills.

“Our blocking picked up later in the first two games, both
at the net and on the back row,” said UCLA freshman outside
hitter Ella Harley. “We got some key digs and deflections on
some of their attacks. They were a hard team to read, but things
got better once we picked up on (their game plan).”

The Bruins hung with the early-charging Waves in game one,
trailing 5-4 after Bruin junior opposite hitter Ashley Bowles
spiked a kill off an assist by senior middle blocker Elisabeth
Bachman.

Pepperdine, then rattled off seven straight points, capped by an
ace serve that forced Bruin head coach Andy Banachowski to ask for
a timeout.

“We didn’t start out as strong as we wanted
to,” said Bachman, who celebrated her 22nd birthday Tuesday
night. “So our intensity was not all there at the beginning.
We knew we had to pick it up.”

UCLA did just that, going on a 8-1 run that saw the Waves
self-destruct with numerous errors. The Bruins complemented that
with four kills during the stretch by Porter and an ace serve by
sophomore outside hitter Lauren Fendrick. Porter’s eighth
kill of the game helped the Bruins capture the opening game
15-12.

Game two was almost a mirror image of what had just taken place.
Jumping out 12-5, the Waves looked to be in business. The rally was
marked by consecutive double-blocks on Porter attacks by
Pepperdine’s Jennifer Fopma and Stacy Rouwenhorst.

But UCLA regained the intensity it lacked at the start to close
game two with a 10-1 charge.

“It’s just a process that we are getting better
at,” Harley said. “We have our ups and downs but I
think we will find a way to avoid doing that. We need to learn to
pick it up before we have to.”

Game three was a complete UCLA domination. Zero errors, a .333
game hitting clip and stingy defense helped the Bruins win 15-1 and
extend their winning streak to eight matches.

“Defense always helps us,” Bachman said. “It
fires us up and pushes up our intensity.”