Eyes on the Prize

  ALISA STOUDT Outside hitter Kristee
Porter is determined to lead the Bruins to their fourth
NCAA Championship.

By AJ Cadman
Daily Bruin Senior Staff

It’s no wonder that Kristee Porter gets the attention she
does.

Her glowing smile evokes satisfaction in victory and consolation
in defeat. Her numbing swing, complemented by the ability to reach
10-feet-8-inches when she jumps, scares opposing back row players
into near submission. UCLA’s only current three-sport athlete
is never content.

And few possess the grace and power to leave everyone in
awe.

Except for Kristee Porter, of course.

“I just have fun playing and I don’t really focus on
(the accolades),” Porter said. “In all three sports I
play, I have the team goal in mind and try to keep my focus on
that.”

While modesty is one of her visible qualities, intimidation is
the most striking. Porter knows she is the go-to hitter on one of
the premier teams in college volleyball. But she bounces the
attention away from herself like a mirror, reflecting the
team’s success to merely that: the team. Make no mistake,
Porter has one goal beyond awards, accolades, records and the
attention that follows her.

She wants a national championship. And she is the first to tell
you that this team can do it.

“We have a lot of heart,” Porter said. “We all
care so much about winning and we know we are almost there.
There’s this energy we have; we are on the verge of letting
it spill out on the court.

“We just need to stay focused on what we want to
accomplish and we can be an unbeatable team. I truly believe
that.”

When she first arrived in Westwood, it was love at first sight.
Porter found comfort in playing for Andy Banachowski, the greatest
coach the women’s collegiate game has ever known.
Banachowski, meanwhile, knew he had found a special piece to the
puzzle.

At the same time, the six-time national champion coach realized
that Porter was still a freshman, and that her development into a
complete player was the key to how far the Bruins might travel in
their title quest.

“She understood when she arrived here that there was so
much more to the game than just hitting,” Banachowski said.
“In high school, her hitting was such a weapon. But she has
been a good learner and is always interested in working to get
better.

“She has become a better passer and likes to play defense.
She is always striving to improve.”

Combining blistering power with the perfection of the rest of
her skills was crucial for the volleyball team to succeed. So
Porter did what good players do: practice.

But practice demands the very best, and Porter knew that to stay
in the rotation, she needed to concentrate on her defense and
serving ““ which she now takes great pride in.

But sometimes, the three-time all-conference first teamer
isn’t pleased with her play. One person knows that better
than Porter’s coaches and teammates, even though she watches
from afar.

“She is very stubborn,” said Kristee’s mother
Debra. “Once she gets her mind set to do something,
it’s hard to discourage her. She knows what she can handle.
She can get out there and go for it.”

Porter’s athletic prowess can be traced back to those
family football games with her father and three brothers back in
Tyler, Tex. While her parents have never seen the National Player
of the Year candidate play a single match in college, she can
always feel their support.

“My parents have never really pushed me in the direction
of sports,” Kristee added. “It has been pretty much up
to me as far as where I want to go with sports.”

The love of sports developed and Porter accepted a volleyball
scholarship from the Bruins after declining bids from top national
volleyball powerhouses like Penn State, Florida State and Pac-10
rival Stanford. UCLA’s selling point was simple.

“One of the main reasons I decided to come here was that
the coaches said that I could do all three sports,” Porter
said. “I initially came in on volleyball and track. But then
I talked to Kathy (Olivier) and she graciously allowed me to play
with the basketball team and it worked out.”

Porter has toyed with the idea of participating in a fourth
sport at UCLA, which would make her the second Bruin after Jackie
Robinson to letter with four intercollegiate teams. So what team,
if she thought she could do it, would Porter attempt to compete
with?

“I love the artistic merit that comes with
gymnastics,” Porter said. “It’s probably one of
the most difficult sports (to perform).

“If I thought I could do gymnastics, I would probably try
(to make the team).”

But Porter is quick to return to her primary objective: an NCAA
women’s volleyball title. With a team of superstars like
senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman, junior opposite Ashley
Bowles and junior setter Erika Selsor, complemented with consistent
veteran-like play from the supporting cast, UCLA believes that the
struggles of the regular season will be a distant memory come
Saturday’s NCAA first round match with Morgan State.

“Kristee has such a big impact whenever she is out on the
floor,” Bowles said of her batterymate. “She definitely
brings that added sense of confidence, that feeling that she always
has our backs.”

So even though the women’s basketball and track squads are
impatiently waiting to put to Porter’s 5-foot-11 frame to
their own use, the time now is for volleyball.

Her future has always looked bright, but she can’t stare
at it too long without getting blinded by what is important in the
present. Whether it’s a productive athletic career or
finishing school as a psychology major so she can teach someday,
Porter has her sights set on the ultimate prize for now.

“Right now, there’s a huge void,” she said.
“I am one of those people who always wants more. I want
everything I could possibly get from my college experience.
There’s still a lot to accomplish.”

For Porter, the awe is in standing on the podium in Virginia on
Dec. 16, helping to hoist up the 2000 NCAA Championship trophy with
her Bruin teammates.