Baylor
UCLA
Volleyball Falls To No. 11 UCLA In Classic Championship
11/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Volleyball
Nov. 25, 2000
WACO, Texas - Tatiana Kenon pounded 15 kills with only two errors for a .542 attacking percentage, but it was not enough as No. 11 UCLA edged Baylor 15-9, 15-7, 15-8 here Saturday night in the championship match of the Baylor Thanksgiving Classic. With the loss, the Bears fall to 16-15, UCLA improves to 22-7.
In earlier action, Connecticut (20-13) defeated UNLV (6-21) 15-6, 13-15, 15-10, 15-9 to earn third-place honors.
Tournament Most Valuable Player Kristee Porter blistered the Bears for 22 kills with only four errors for a .514 attacking percentage to lead UCLA to the victory. The Bruins are now 2-0 all-time against Baylor, UCLA won in three games in Waco during the 1997 season. Porter, a native of Tyler, Texas, had 37 kills in just six games on the weekend.
While UCLA won the match in three games, the Bruins did not reach the title with ease. Baylor stretched UCLA on several occasions, leading at several points in the match. The Bears built an 8-3 lead in the final game before the Bruins stormed back for 13 unanswered points.
As a team, UCLA hit at a .352 clip, ironically the same percentage at which the Bruins hit Friday in their first-round victory over Connecticut. UCLA also out-blocked Baylor 9-4, and out-dug the Bears 51-44.
"Overall I was pleased with our effort and intensity," Baylor head coach Brian Hosfeld said. "The biggest thing of the match was that they out-blocked us and they out-dug us. The first happens often, but we rarely have fewer digs than our opponent."
Senior Dana Aktinson contributed nine kills and a team-high 11 digs for the Bears. Freshman of the Year and all-America candidate Stevie Nicholas posted her 18th double-double of the season with a team-high 16 kills and 10 digs to go along with a team-high three blocks. Fellow freshman Tisha Schwartz came off the bench for 10 errorless kills in 14 swings.
Nicholas and Kenon were both named to the all-tournament team. It was the third all-tournament honor of the season for Nicholas, who was named to such teams early in the season at the Rice Invitational and at the Starwoods Plaza Classic. Kenon earned all-tournament honors for the second time this season following honors at the Rice Invitational.
Elisabeth Bachman, who had 11 kills on the night, and Ashley Bowles, who had 12 kills and a match-high 14 digs against Baylor, joined Porter on the all-tournament team for UCLA. Stephanie Schindel of Connecticut and Amber Graham of UNLV also earned such honors.
In the first match, Schindel put down 19 kills and collected a tournament-high 24 digs to lead Connecticut past UNLV. The Huskies hit just .191 as a team, but held the Rebels to a .141 percentage and had 10 more digs. Laura Wooley and Julie Erbez contributed for Connecticut with 13 digs and 10 digs, respectively.
