Sept. 15, 2000

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Washington State volleyball team found the opening weekend of Pacific-10 Conference play inhospitable as the Cougars lost their second match in two days, this time to #7 UCLA. The home-court Bruins won 15-8, 15-5, 15-8.

UCLA was led by the 15 kills of Kristee Porter with Elizabeth Bachman adding 13 and Lauren Fendrick contributing 11 kills. Bachman also had six blocks, equaling the number of blocks WSU produced as a team.

WSU had three hitters with 7 kills each - Adrian Hankoff, Holly Harris and Zanda Bautre. The Bruins out-hit WSU .339 to .101.

WSU is now 8-2 overall, 0-2 to open Pacific-10 Conference play. UCLA is 7-3, 2-0.

In the opening game, WSU's 4-3 lead withered quickly as UCLA pounded seven straight points to take over at 10-4. The Cougars fought back to within three at 11-8, but it was not enough as the Bruins reeled off a sideout and three points to get to their first game service. UCLA hiccuped, as Ella Harley's serve touched the net at 14-8. WSU didn't stop a kill from Ashley Bowles and UCLA took over serve. Chelsie Schafer's hitting error gave the UCLA game one win, 15-8.

Cougar coach Cindy Fredrick, looking at the -.122 hitting percentage from game one, shook up the WSU lineup. Camila Schmitz Rower and Zanda Bautre subbed in to start game two in place of Chelsie Schafer and Adrian Hankoff. While the newcomer Cougs provided some spark to the offense, it wasn't nearly enough as UCLA outscored WSU 14-2 for a 15-5 second game win.

WSU took a 7-1 lead in game three before UCLA went on an 14-1 scoring spree, including the final five points of the game without a sideout. It was the second loss for the Cougs and the second night WSU was swept in three games.

"You're playing a 6-3 woman with very long arms and a fifth-year senior in Elisabeth Bachman and I had two freshmen, Zanda Bautre and Nohea Tano, out there trying to block her," Cougar coach Cindy Fredrick said. "UCLA has some tremendous talent on their team, Bachman, Kristee Porter and even though Ashley Bowles didn't play well tonight and they took her out, and Lauren Fendrick really picked it up. We had a hard time blocking tonight and they actually only out-blocked us 7 to 6. They almost doubled our kills and our hitting tonight was really off. Overall, it wasn't a great performance by us but it got several other players on the court to play and the good news is, this Southern California trip is over."

Washington State takes on Palouse neighbor Idaho, Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Moscow. The Cougars return to heralded Bohler Gym for the Homecoming weekend Pac-10 matches against #13 Arizona, Friday, Sept. 22, and Arizona State, Saturday, Sept. 23.

"Idaho has been playing very well," Fredrick said. "I'm anticipating a real barn burner over at their gym. They'll have a great crowd who will probably be about as brutal as USC's crowd was last night. I think our kids are up for that challenge and they will be ready to go. They know what to expect on the road now. Then they will be very excited for the opening of Bohler Gym and looking forward to playing at home."

#7 UCLA (7-3, 2-0) def. Washington State (8-2, 0-2) 15-8, 15-5, 15-8
STATISTICS:
KILLS: Hankoff (WSU) 7, H. Harris (WSU) 7, Bautre (WSU) 7, Porter (UCLA) 15.
ASSISTS:  Surplus (WSU) 27, Fendrick (ULCA) 43.
DIGS:  H. Harris (WSU) 11, Fendrick (UCLA) 12.
BLOCKS:  Kightlinger (WSU) 4, Bachman (UCLA) 6.
SERVICE ACES:  Schafer (WSU) 1, Selsor (UCLA) 2, Hogan (UCLA) 2.
Attendance:  435.