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2000 Bruin Women's Volleyballat Arizona/Arizona State - Tucson/Tempe, AZ - October 12-13, 2000

UCLA Quick Facts
2000 Overall Record: 10-5
2000 Pac-10 Record: 5-2
Ranking: No. 10, AVCA/USA Today
No. 13, Volleyball Magazine
Head Coach: Andy Banachowski
Career Record: 883-209 (34th season)

The Bruins continue their two-week road swing this Thursday and Friday, traveling to Arizona and Arizona State to complete the first half of the 2000 Pac-10 schedule. Against the Wildcats, the Bruins hold a 39-7 all-time record with a 15-5 record in Tucson, including a five-game win last season. UCLA leads the series against the Sun Devils by a 43-5 margin, including an 18-3 record in Tempe. Last season, the Bruins swept ASU at Wells Fargo Arena.

Bruins Stop USC's Consecutive Games Streak But Lose Match

Despite the fourth 30-kill performance of the season from junior outside hitter Kristee Porter, the Bruins were unable to leave North Gym with a match victory, falling 11-15,11-15, 15-8, 11-15 to the Women of Troy last Friday night in a 2 hour 27 minute marathon. With the game three win, the Bruins were able to halt USC's consecutive games won stretch at 38. Ironically, the last time USC had such a streak, it was ended at 38 games by UCLA in 1977, a five-game match win by the Bruins.

UCLA is now 10-5 on the 2000 season, and four of those losses are at the hands of the current top-four teams in the AVCA poll: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Hawai'i, No. 3 Colorado State and No. 4 USC. The Bruins took Nebraska and Colorado State to five games on neutral floors, while falling to USC in four games on Friday night at North Gym.

This Week's Schedule - October 9-15

UCLA travels to Arizona and Arizona State this weekend to complete the first half of the Pac-10 schedule. Last season, the Bruins posted a 3-0 win at ASU and won a five-game marathon match at Arizona. Thursday's match will be broadcast on the internet with Lou Riggs and Doug Kim calling the action, while Friday marks UCLA's FOX Sports Net debut with Jim Watson and Angie Kammer on the broadcast. In the Los Angeles area, the match will air live on FOX Sports West 2.

Thu. Oct. 12	UCLA at Arizona (uclabruins.com)Tucson, AZ	7:00 p.m. PT
Fri. Oct. 13	UCLA at Arizona State (FOX Sports Net)Tempe, AZ	7:30 p.m. PT

Head Coach Andy Banachowski

In his 34th season on the Bruin bench, UCLA head coach Andy Banachowski remains one of the top coaches in his profession. On Oct. 24, 1997, he was the first women's volleyball coach to be inducted into the National Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, MA, and was the first women's coach in history to record 800 career wins (883-209, .809). Additionally, Banachowski was honored with USA Volleyball's 'All-Time Great Coach' award last May in Columbus, OH. Under Banachowski's leadership, the Bruins have won six national championships, including three NCAA titles.Porter Points

National Player of the Year candidate Kristee Porter opened the 2000 season by becoming the first player this year to record 30 kills in a match, and has now accomplished the feat a nation-leading four times, against Penn State (Aug. 25), vs. Texas A&M (Sept. 3), vs. Oregon State (Sept. 28) and at USC (Oct. 6). The Texas A&M match was Porter's 10th career 30-kill match, a 33-kill performance that set a new UCLA record for kills in a four-game match. Porter leads the Pac-10 with 336 kills, good for a 5.89 per-game average. She also ranks fourth in the current NCAA standings with that average. Her 1,500th career kill was downed on Sept. 29 against Oregon (1,534). With 12 career 30-kill matches, Porter easily outdistances Natalie Williams and Liz Masakayan (seven each) for the Pac-10 and UCLA career lead in that category. Porter was named All-Tournament three straight weekends during the Bruins pre-conference schedule, including MVP honors at the Hawaiian Airlines Classic over the Labor Day weekend. She also earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors after that tournament on Sept. 5, following the Hawaiian Airlines Classic. Porter now has three total Pac-10 Player of the Week honors, one during each year of her Bruin career.

Porter's Career Numbers

Last year, Kristee Porter became the second-fastest person in NCAA history and 16th Bruin to record 1,000 career kills, doing so in her 50th career match. Her 1,534 kills is ninth-best in Bruin history and is tops among the Pac-10's active players. For more information on Kristee Porter, please refer to pages 20-21 of the UCLA media guide.Bachman Blocks for Pac-10 Lead

Senior middle blocker Elisabeth 'Wiz' Bachman currently leads the Pac-10 in blocks with a 1.45 per-game average. She posted two career milestones on Sept. 22 in Berkeley, earning her 1,000th career kill on the third rally of UCLA's 3-1 win over Cal, and stuffed her 500th career block on the next-to-last rally of the same match. Bachman is the fourth player in UCLA history and 14th in Pac-10 history to record both 1,000 kills and 500 total blocks in her career, and currently has 1,055 kills and 526 career total blocks. The other three Bruins to have accomplished that feat are Davia Tomkus, Kim Krull and the Pac-10's Athlete of the Decade, Natalie Williams. Bachman recorded her first career double-double on Sept. 28 in Pauley Pavilion, posting 12 kills and 11 blocks (2 BS/9 BA) against Oregon State. Bachman earned her nickname of 'Wiz' at the age of two, when a childhood friend couldn't pronounce an 'L', turning 'Liz' into 'Wiz.' For more information on All-America candidate Wiz Bachman, please refer to pages 14-15 of the UCLA media guide.Bowles Reaches Career Milestone

Junior outside hitter Ashley Bowles became the 18th Bruin to reach 1,000 career kills on Friday night in Pauley Pavilion, and now has 1,023 career kills. Bowles entered the Oregon match needing just one kill for 1,000 on her career and easily exceeded that requirement. Bowles is the third current Bruin to reach the 1,000 career kill mark, joining Wiz Bachman and Kristee Porter in that accomplishment.Setting Everyone Up

Junior setter Erika Selsor currently ranks third on UCLA's all-time career list with 3,840 to her credit. That number is also tops among the Pac-10's active setters. Selsor currently ranks 12th in the NCAA standings with 13.77 assists/game. With 72 assists at Arizona on Oct. 22, 1999, Selsor set a new UCLA standard with her seventh career match with 70 assists or more, breaking the previous record held by Ann Boyer (1985-88) and Selsor's predecessor, Kim Coleman (1994-97). Since then, she has upped that total to 10, most recently with a 79-assist performance at USC on Oct. 6. Selsor was named to the All-Tournament Team at the State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic.Opposing Hitting Percentage Bottoms Out

Eight of UCLA's 15 opponents this season have hit below .200, with Texas A&M (.215), Hawaii (.203) and Oregon State (.204) barely breaking the Mendoza line. Washington checked out at -.010, while Washington State hit .101 for the match in the first weekend of Pac-10 play. Oregon followed two weeks later with a .041 team attack percentage. In matches against the top-four teams in the Sept. 18 AVCA poll, the Bruins held No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Hawaii, No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Nebraska to a combined .219 attack percentage. Following UCLA's Sept. 10 match against the Cornhuskers, those four teams were averaging an attack percentage of .322 for their 2000 seasons. In 1999, UCLA held 25 of its 32 opponents (including the opponents in 15 of 18 Pac-10 matches) under .200, and 13 teams were held under .100.The Nation's Toughest Schedule?

Considering both mileage traveled and the teams being played, the Bruins could very well have the nation's toughest schedule in 2000. Following the upcoming trip to Arizona, the Bruins will include the top six teams in the current AVCA/USA Today poll. Eight of UCLA's first 10 matches were against top-25 teams. UCLA has already played the top four teams in the current AVCA poll. In addition, Penn State was ranked No. 2 at the time of the Nittany Lions match with UCLA.

UCLA's academic schedule is on a quarter system, therefore the Bruins did not begin classes until Thursday, Sept. 28. UCLA had already finalized its 2000 schedule when the Bruins were invited to the State Farm Women's Volleyball Classic, adding the nation's premier tournament to the team's pre-conference schedule.Career Updates

Many Bruins continue to move up on the school's career lists. Senior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman is now ranked in all three of UCLA's career block categories with 108 block solos (2nd), 418 block assists (5th) and 526 total blocks (5th), and ranks at the top of the list among active Pac-10 players in total blocks. Ashley Bowles has also achieved the 1,000 kill milestone, checking in with 1,023 heading into the Arizona trip. With 3,840 career assists, sophomore setter Erika Selsor leads the Pac-10 list of active setters, and is third-best in Bruin history.Freshman Forum

Five of UCLA's seven freshmen have now seen match action this season. Redshirt freshman Ella Harley stepped in to UCLA's second middle blocker spot when Angela Eckmier was lost for the year with a torn ACL. Harley has done an admirable job stepping into that role, ranking second on the team with 0.85 blocks/game.

In the back row, Stacey Lee and Alyssa Rylander have shared the defensive specialist role opposite senior Michelle Quon, with Lee playing in 45 games and averaging 2.07 digs/game with 12 aces, and Rylander posting one ace to go along with 1.59 digs/game.

Other freshmen seeing court time include Krystal McFarland, who has subbed for both Ashley Bowles and Lauren Fendrick in various situations and started her first career match on Friday night at USC. Cira Wright has subbed in as a front-row defensive replacement for Selsor, and has racked up nine blocks in 16 games played.Criss-Crossing the Country

If you think that Presidential Candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore are logging a lot of miles on the campaign trail, just take a look at the Bruins schedule during the first month of the season.

UCLA departed Westwood on Aug. 23 for Gainesville, FL (round-trip of approx. 4,850 miles) before heading to Honolulu for the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic (round-trip: 5,100 miles) and going back east for the Adidas Invitational in South Bend, IN (round-trip: 4,190 miles). The month concluded with a Pac-10 road trip to the Bay Area schools, a comparitively miniscule 760 mile round-trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Along the way, UCLA faced off against eight teams away from Pauley Pavilion that appeared in either poll at match time.

Total mileage for the Bruins between the start of the season and Oct. 1? Approximately 14,900 miles.