Nov. 30, 1999
LOS ANGELES - For the first time since Dec. 2, 1995, an NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship Tournament match will be played on the UCLA campus. The sixth-ranked Bruins are the third seed in the NCAA's Central Region, and will play host to Eastern Washington, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
The Bruins enter this year's NCAA Tournament with an all-time record of 48-15 (.762) in NCAA Championship play, a mark that includes three NCAA titles (1984, '90, '91). UCLA also won national titles in 1972, '74 and '75 when the sport was under the DGWS (1972) and AIAW. The Bruins have a 121-24 (.834) all-time record in postseason play.
No team in women's collegiate volleyball has appeared in more postseason tournaments or final fours than UCLA. Head coach Andy Banachowski leads his squad into postseason play for the 30th time in his 33 years at the helm. Banachowski's teams have appeared in 21 final fours, earning six titles, seven runner-up finishes, five third-place trophies and three fourth-place finishes.
This Week's Schedule - December 4-5
For the first time since 1995, the UCLA Bruins have been selected to host an NCAA Women's Volleyball site. All matches will be played at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus. All-Sessions passes are available for $10 for adults, $6 for students/youth. Tickets can be purchased through the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310-UCLA-WIN.
| Sat. | Dec. | 4 | Ohio State vs. Notre Dame | Pauley Pavilion | 5:00 p.m. |
| Sat. | Dec. | 4 | Eastern Washington vs. UCLA | Pauley Pavilion | 45 min. after 1st match |
| Sun. | Dec. | 5 | Second-Round Match | Pauley Pavilion | 4:00 p.m. |
UCLA Quick Facts
1999 Overall Record: 25-3
1999 Pac-10 Record: 17-1 Co-Champions
Ranking: 8th, AVCA/USA Today, 8th, Volleyball Magazine
Head Coach: Andy Banachowski
Career Record: 870-203 (33rd season)
Website: www.uclabruins.com
NCAA First/Second Round Information
UCLA has never faced first-round opponent Eastern Washington or the site's second-seed, Notre Dame, in women's volleyball. Against Ohio State, the Bruins hold a 6-1 advantage, with the lone Buckeye victory coming last September at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic, part of UCLA's 0-6 start in the 1998 season.
All four teams appearing this weekend at Pauley Pavilion received at-large bids to the Championship. Ohio State was one of eight Big Ten teams tabbed for the field and is playing in its 11th NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame, the Big East regular-season champion and tournament runner-up, joins tournament champion Georgetown as Big East representatives in the field, and is making its ninth Tournament appearance. The Bruins' first-round opponent Eastern Washington is playing in its third Tournament and second consecutive postseason, and is one of three Big Sky teams selected for the field.
All-sessions passes for Saturday and Sunday's matches are on sale through the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310/UCLA-WIN. Adult passes are $10, while student/youth passes are $6. Single-session tickets will not be available until Saturday, and are priced at $7 for adults, $5 for students/youth.Saturday's session begins at 5 p.m. PT and Sunday's match begins at 4 p.m.
Head Coach Andy Banachowski
In his 33rd 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 (870-203, 33rd year). The only other collegiate volleyball coach, men's or women's, with more career wins than Banachowski is UCLA men's coach Al Scates, who notched career victory number 900 during the 1997 season. Banachowski played under Scates at UCLA and also got his start in coaching with Scates. Under Banachowski's leadership, the Bruins have won six national championships, including three NCAA titles.
Seven Bruins Tabbed for Pac-10 Postseason Honors
Four Bruins were named to the 12-member All-Pac-10 Team, including junior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman (Lakeville, MN/Lakeville HS), sophomore outside hitter Ashley Bowles (Manhattan Beach, CA/Mira Costa HS), sophomore outside hitter Kristee Porter (Tyler, TX/John Tyler HS) and sophomore setter Erika Selsor (Linden, CA/Linden). Senior middle blocker Tamika Johnson (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral HS) and junior defensive specialist Michelle Quon (Dana Point, CA/Dana Hills HS) were named to the Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 team, and Lauren Fendrick (Carlsbad, CA/Carlsbad HS) was honored as a member of the six-player Pac-10 All-Freshman Team.
UCLA, which completed conference play as Co-Champions with Stanford, led the league in All-Pac-10 Team honorees, with four. The Bruins seven total selections were just one behind the Cardinal, who had four players honored on the honorable mention team.
Bachman, Quon Recognized for Academic Excellence
Junior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman was recognized on Nov. 18 as a first-team member of the District VIII GTE Academic All-America team. Bachman's name will now be included on the national Academic All-America ballot. The 1999 GTE Academic All-America team will be announced on Tues., Dec. 14. Additionally, Bachman and junior Michelle Quon earned Pac-10 recognition as members of the conference's All-Academic Women's Volleyball Team. Bachman earned first-team honors with a 3.71 GPA in communications, while Quon was a second-team honoree with a 3.27 GPA in psychology with a business specialization.
Career Updates
Many Bruins are busy moving up on the school's career lists this season. 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 1,108 kills (as of 11/28) is 15th in Bruin history and is third among the Pac-10's active players. Junior middle blocker Elisabeth Bachman is now ranked in all three career block categories with 84 block solos (5th), 428 total blocks (7th) and 344 block assists (7th). Among active Pac-10 players, she ranks second behind Stanford's Kerri Walsh (470 TB). With 2,801 career assists, sophomore setter Erika Selsor ranks leads the Pac-10 list of active setters, and is fifth in Bruin history.
Pac-10 Title Tiebreakers
Pac-10 tiebreakers are only utilized to decide which team receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Tiebreakers for the automatic berth are as follows, with the Stanford-UCLA implications in parentheses: 1) head-to-head competition in the conference (tied), 2) most games won head-to-head in conference matches (tied), 3) team with highest for-against ratio of points in head-to-head competition (Stanford leads 89-86).
Porter Points
Kristee Porter has 499 kills through 25 matches, 180 more than the next closest Bruin (Ashley Bowles) Porter's 36 kills at Arizona is the top total by a Pac-10 player this season She has two 30-kill matches this season (tops in Pac-10) and six for her career, tying Natalie Williams and Liz Masakayan for the career lead in that category She is also ranked 15th in the most recent available NCAA statistics (11/15) with a 5.22 kills per game average Despite being only a sophomore, Porter ranks third on the Pac-10's list of active career kill leaders (1,108 kills), behind Stanford senior Kerri Walsh (1,487) and Washington senior Kristina Laffling (1,253).
Bruins Lead Four Pac-10 Individual Statistical Categories
Four Bruins have accumulated season totals that are Pac-10 bests. Bachman holds two of the conference's top spots, leading the way in hitting percentage (.429) and blocks (1.33 per game). Two other Bruins, Tamika Johnson (.394) and Kristee Porter (.304) rank second and ninth in hitting percentage, respectively. Among conference setters, UCLA's Erika Selsor is the best, averaging 13.49 assists/game. It should be no surprise that Kristee Porter leads the conference in kills per game with a 5.25 average. She is the only player in the conference averaging over 5.00 kills/game. As a team, the Bruins are tops in assists (15.66/gm) and kills (17.17/gm).
Opposing Hitting Percentage Bottoms Out
Since the team's first weekend of play, UCLA has held 21 opponents to a team hitting percentage under .200, and are responsible for three of the Pac-10's top-five hitting percentages this season. Three times, against Idaho State at the Pioneer Classic, on Oct. 1 at Washington State, and Nov. 11 against Oregon, opposing teams have finished the match with a negative team hitting percentage. In all, the Bruins have held 22 of 28 opponents (including the opponents in 15 of 18 Pac-10 matches) under .200, and 12 teams have been held under .100. Seven teams have hit .200 against the Bruins: Minnesota (.237), Hawaii (.240), Arizona (.220 on Oct. 22) and USC (.209 on Nov. 19), while Stanford (11/5) and Pepperdine (11/23) are the only teams to hit over .300.
Bruins vs. 1999 NCAA Tournament Field
UCLA played eight members of the 1999 NCAA field during its regular season schedule, and accumulated a 9-3 record against those schools. Two of UCLA's losses were against top seeds, in Stanford (Nov. 5) and Hawai'i (Sept. 7). Pepperdine was the Bruins third loss against the field, and the Waves are seeded second to UCLA's third in the Cental region. Other schools in the tournament field that the Bruins have played this season include Minnesota (Sept. 5, W), USC (Oct. 13, W, Nov. 19, W), Arizona State (Sept. 25, W, Oct. 21, W), Cincinnati (Sept. 18, W) and Arizona (Sept. 24, W, Oct. 22, W).
.300 Club
Three Bruins are on pace to etch their names in the UCLA record book for hitting percentage in a single season. Elisabeth Bachman leads the way with a .429 hitting percentage, a mark that would easily improve upon the Pac-10 and school record of .416, set by Natalie Williams in 1992. Tamika Johnson is next in line with a .394 mark that would rank third, behind Bachman and Williams, while Kristee Porter has a chance to join the group with a .304 hitting percentage for the season. To qualify for the list, players must average three attempts/game.
Setting Everyone Up
Sophomore setter Erika Selsor started the 1999 season ranked eighth in Bruin history with 1,506 career assists. Since then, she has added 1,295 to her total and currently ranks fifth on UCLA's all-time career list with 2,801 to her credit. With 72 assists at Arizona on Oct. 22, 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 her predecessor, Kim Coleman (1994-97).
Bowles Playing Double Role
Sophomore Ashley Bowles has spent much of the season at opposite hitter, and has set for the Bruins at the end of numerous matches. Her setting experience paid off for the Bruins in the key match on Oct. 22 at Arizona. With regular setter Erika Selsor in the front row in game five, Banachowski was able to replace Selsor with middle blocker Angela Eckmier, giving UCLA a better blocking weapon in the front row. Bowles was the only setter on the floor for seven rallies in game five, and finished the match with eight assists.
Five-Game Match Notes
There are several similarities between UCLA's five game victories over Minnesota (Sept. 5) and Arizona (Oct. 22). The most interesting coincidence is probably that the Bruins faced a match point in both matches at 14-10. On Sept. 5, the key moment was in game three, when the Gophers had apparently won the match before an overturned call gave UCLA new life. They eventually won game three 16-14, and posted victories in games four and five to win the match. On Friday at Arizona, the Bruins were again down 14-10, facing match point to the Wildcats. Arizona served for the match three times before UCLA rallied to a 16-14 game four win, eventually winning the fifth and deciding game, 15-13. The Bruins dropped their first five-game match of the season on Nov. 23 in Malibu, Calif., losing to Pepperdine 3-2.
Missing Match?
Yes, the Bruins did play one less match than originally scheduled at the Kent Invitational. Due to the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, UCLA's Friday evening opponent, Seton Hall, was unable to leave South Orange, N.J., and was forced to cancel its trip to Northeast Ohio. Kent and Cincinnati made up for the lost match by facing off twice in tourney play, once in the originally-scheduled match on Friday (a 3-1 Cincinnati victory) and an additional match on Saturday (3-0 Cincinnati).
Notables
With a record of 25-3 (17-1 Pac-10), UCLA has not only earned its first Pac-10 title since 1993, but has its best overall record since the 1994 season, when the Bruins lost in the NCAA Championship match to Stanford. Setter Erika Selsor and Porter are tied for the team lead in service aces with 25, just two ahead of Ashley Bowles and four ahead of Michelle Quon Only three Bruins have played in every game of the season: Selsor and defensive specialists Quon and Stacy Millichap Quon is the only current Bruin with 700 or more career digs, ranking seventh among active Pac-10 players with 709 Either Bachman or Bowles will be the next Bruin to reach 1,000 kills. Both rank among Pac-10 top active players with 824 (8th) and 785 kills (10th), respectively UCLA is averaging more than four kills/game more than their opponents (17.4-12.7) and are out-blocking (2-9-2.0) and out-digging (15.2-13.2) their opponents on average.
AVCA/USA Today Poll (11/29/99)
| No. | School (1st place) | Points |
| 1. | Penn State (52) | 1488 |
| 2. | Stanford (8) | 1444 |
| 3. | Hawai'i | 1367 |
| 4. | Florida | 1301 |
| 5. | Pacific | 1292 |
| 6. | Long Beach State | 1194 |
| 7. | UC Santa Barbara | 1116 |
| 8. | UCLA | 1056 |
| 9. | Pepperdine | 1048 |
| 10. | Nebraska | 934 |
| 11. | Colorado State | 922 |
| 12. | BYU | 857 |
| 13. | Texas A&M | 780 |
| 14. | USC | 684 |
| 15. | Texas | 614 |
| 16. | Clemson | 604 |
| 17. | Northern Iowa | 555 |
| 18 | Arizona | 437 |
| 19. | Kansas State | 387 |
| 20. | Baylor | 361 |
| 21. | Colorado | 261 |
| 22. | Minnesota | 239 |
| 23. | North Carolina | 221 |
| 24. | Arkansas | 125 |
| 25. | Univ. of San Diego | 110 |
Volleyball Magazine Poll (11/29/99)
| No. | School | |
| 1. | Penn State |
| 2. | Stanford |
| 3. | Florida |
| 4. | Hawai'i |
| 5. | Pacific |
| 6. | Long Beach State |
| 7. | UCSB |
| 8. | UCLA |
| 9. | Nebraska |
| 10. | Pepperdine |
| 11. | Colorado State |
| 12. | Texas A&M |
| 13. | BYU |
| 14. | Texas |
| 15. | Northern Iowa |
| 16. | USC |
| 17. | Clemson |
| 18. | Baylor |
| 19. | Arizona |
| 20. | Arkansas |
1999 UCLA Record
| all matches | 25-3 |
| vs. conference opponents | 17-1 |
| vs. ranked opponents(at match time) | 5-3 |
| home matches at Pauley Pavilion | 9-0 |
| playing on a Friday | 11-1 |
| playing on a Saturday | 7-0 |
| playing on a Sunday | 1-0 |
| playing Monday through Thursday | 6-2 |
The Bruins' Record When They
| Won 1st game | 23-2 | Lost 1st game | 2-1 |
| Won 2nd game | 23-2 | Lost 2nd game | 2-1 |
| Won 3rd game | 21-0 | Lost 3rd game | 4-3 |
| Won 4th game | 6-0 | Lost 4th game | 0-3 |
| Played five games | 2-1 |
Eastern Washington
Nickname: Eagles
Current Ranking: Not Ranked
Location: Cheney, Wash.
Enrollment: 8,000
Head Coach: Pamela Parks
1999 Record: 24-7, (12-4 Big Sky)
Series: First Meeting
Ohio State
Nickname: Buckeyes
Current Ranking: Not Ranked
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Enrollment: 48,300
Head Coach: Jim Stone
1999 Record: 16-11, (10-10 Big Ten)
Series: UCLA leads 6-1
Last Meeting: OSU won 3-2, 9/6/98 in Honolulu, Hawaii
Notre Dame
Nickname: Fighting Irish
Current Ranking: Not Ranked
Location: Notre Dame, Ind.
Enrollment: 10,301
Head Coach: Debbie Brown
1999 Record: 20-8, (11-0 Big East)
Series: First Meeting
All-Tournament Bruins
| Wahine Classic | Pioneer Classic | Kent Inv. |
| Porter | Porter (MVP) | Porter (MVP) |
| Bowles | Johnson | Bowles |
| | Johnson |
| | Selsor |
1999 Bruins in the Rankings
| Week | AVCA/USA Today | VB Magazine |
| Preseason | 10 | 10 |
| 9/6/99 | 10 | 10 |
| 9/13/99 | 11 | 10 |
| 9/20/99 | 11 | 10 |
| 9/27/99 | 10 | 8 |
| 10/4/99 | 9 | 8 |
| 10/11/99 | 6 | 5 |
| 10/18/99 | 6 | 5 |
| 10/25/99 | 7 | 4 |
| 11/1/99 | 7 | 4 |
| 11/8/99 | 7 | 7 |
| 11/15/99 | 6 | 6 |
| 11/22/99 | 6 | 6 |
| 11/29/99 | 8 | 8 |
Pacific-10 Final Standings
| Pl. | School | Pac-10 | OverAll |
| 1. | UCLA*# | 17-1 | 25-3 |
| Stanford*# | 17-1 | 26-2 |
| 3. | USC# | 13-5 | 20-8 |
| 4. | Arizona# | 12-6 | 19-10 |
| 5. | Arizona State# | 10-8 | 14-12 |
| 6. | Washington State | 7-11 | 13-15 |
| California | 7-11 | 13-15 |
| 8. | Washington | 4-14 | 8-18 |
| 9. | Oregon State | 2-16 | 8-18 |
| 10. | Oregon | 1-17 | 7-20 |
*-Pac-10 Co-Champions
#-NCAA Tournament Participants
1999 All-Pac-10 Team
| Player, Team | Pos. | Year |
| Elisabeth Bachman, UCLA | MB | Jr. |
| Ashley Bowles, UCLA | OH | So. |
| Amanda Burbridge, ASU | OH | Jr. |
| Dana Burkholder, ARIZ | S | So. |
| Marisa DaLee, ARIZ | MB | Jr. |
| Jennifer Detmer, STAN | MB | Jr. |
| Kristina Laffling, WASH | SW | Sr. |
| Jennifer Pahl, USC | MB | So. |
| Kristee Porter, UCLA | OH | So. |
| Erika Selsor, UCLA | S | So. |
| Logan Tom, STAN | OH | Fr. |
| Kerri Walsh, STAN | OH | Sr. |
Honorable Mention
Tara Conrad, STAN
Kashi Cormier, USC
Brook Coulter, CAL
LaToya Harris, WSU
Janae Henry, USC
Tamika Johnson, UCLA
Lindsay Kagawa, STAN
Antoinette Polk, USC
Michelle Quon, UCLA
Lisa Rutledge, ARIZ
Sara Sandrick, STAN
Angie Shirley, OSU
Lisa Underhill, WASH
Lindsey Yamasaki, STAN
All-Freshman Team
| School | Pos. |
| Lauren Fendrick | UCLA | OH |
| LaToya Harris | WSU | OH |
| Tracy Lindquist | USC | S |
| Lisa Rutledge | ARIZ | OH |
| Logan Tom | STAN | OH/MB |
HM: Paige Benjamin, WASH, Sydney Chute, ORE, Holly Harris, SU, Lauren Killian, USC, Stafani Saragosa, ARIZ, Melissa Wright, WSU
Player of the Year: Kerri Walsh, STAN
Freshman of the Year: Logan Tom, STAN
Coach of the Year: Jerritt Elliott, USC
