Team regroups to snap losing streak vs. USC

Published: Friday, October 30, 1998

Friday, October 30, 1998

PREVIEW: Squad to rely on altered rotation, freshmen's impressive play to beat Trojans

By Nick Taylor

Daily Bruin Contributor

The No. 23 ranked UCLA Bruins, riding a six-game winning streak, will take on the No. 11 Trojans of Southern Cal this Friday evening at Pauley Pavilion. UCLA will look to snap a four-game losing streak to the Trojans, including a four set loss (9-15, 15-9, 3-15, 6-15) earlier this season.

UCLA will depend on the impressive play of their freshman superstars to beat the Trojans. Kristee Porter had 45 kills to complement 23 digs over the past weekend's sweep of the Oregon schools. Freshman Ashley Bowles had 35 kills and 21 digs in the 2 matches.

The key for the Bruins will be the outside-hitter matchup against Jennifer Kessy and Jasmina Marinkovic of the Trojans.

Kessy dominated the earlier match with 27 kills, a hitting percentage of over .500 and a long serve that confused the Bruin defense.

Porter said, "(We) are communicating much better," and that Kessy's long serves were attributed to bad communication on the part of UCLA. The Bruins feel that if they can take away Kessy's cross-court spike, they can beat the Trojans.

"We would rather she go down the line", Porter said, but acknowledge that this strategy is easier said than done.

To eliminate the impact that USC's clutch performer could have on the match, the Bruins plan to have their outside hitters rotate to the middle of the court, so that they can take away Kessy's angle on the cross-court shot.

The coaching staff have opted to have the outside hitters vacate their base positions, which will allow the Bruins' deep defenders to cover the open space down the line.

While Kessy is a threat from the outside, Marinkovic is USC's inside threat. Her 4.30 kills are sixth in the Pac-10 conference, and her height presented problems for the Bruin offense in their last meeting.

UCLA will counter with a young and balanced offensive attack. Porter and Bowles (third and eighth in the Pac-10 in kills per game) lead the way, and middle blockers Elisabeth Bachman and Amy Nihipali will provide offensive support and impenetrable defense in the middle.

In fact, the most electrifying play may not be a kill from the outside, but a powerful straight down block from the duo of Bachman and Nihipali.

The Bruins will need both of them to neutralize Marinkovic and take away Kessy's cross-court angles.

The match also lies in the defense of Chaska Potter, Michelle Quon, Erika Selsor, and Mandi Lawson. While they play deep defensively, Potter has been adjusting to her role as a defender until her injured shoulder fully allows her to attack offensively. The Bruins try to get Potter eight to 12 kill attempts per match.

If they can work her into the offense against USC, she could be the deciding factor in an otherwise evenly matched contest. BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily Bruin

UCLA's Chaska Potter spikes the ball over the stretched arms of the University of Washington's blockers in a previous game.

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