Nov. 10, 2000
LOS ANGELES - Behind 18 kills from Elisabeth Bachman and Kristee Porter, the No. 7 UCLA Bruin volleyball team defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils 3-0 at Pauley Pavilion Friday night in Pac-10 volleyball action.
With the 15-12, 15-10, 15-7 sweep, the Bruins improved to 19-5 on the year and 13-2 in Pac-10 play. Arizona State remains in fourth place in the conference at 17-10 overall and are 9-8 in Pac-10 play. The Sun Devils have one remaining regular season match with rival Arizona on Nov. 18 in Tucson.
Arizona State senior outside hitter Amanda Burbridge (Scottsdale, Ariz.) led all players with 22 kills and added nine digs. She moved into third place in the ASU career record books, passing Christy Nore (1985-88) who recorded 1,517 in her illustrious career. Burbridge now has 1,535 in her career with one match remaining in the 2000 regular season. Burbridge continued her streak of recording at least double-digits in kills in every match she has played in this year and now has 16 matches with 20 or more kills.
After falling behind 14-6 in game one, the Sun Devils got tough and made the opening frame interesting. ASU scored six unanswered points to battle back to 14-12, before falling 15-12 to give the Bruins the 1-0 lead. Burbridge led ASU with six kills and senior Michelle Mortensen (Chandler, Ariz.) added three blocks.
Game two saw the Bruins win two long and crucial rallies to gain a 15-10 victory. Burbridge added seven more kills and junior Jami Coughlin (Glendale, Ariz.) tallied four kills in the second game. The Bruins out-hit the Sun Devils .309 to .180 in game two.
UCLA won the decisive game three 15-7 to close out the match and gain their 19th victory of the year. Pac-10 kill leader Porter led the Bruins with 18 kills to add to her already NCAA fourth ranking 5.86 kill per game average. Porter also contributed a match high 15 digs and tallied four blocks. Bachman was solid at the net with 18 kills as well and added three blocks.
The Sun Devils saw extensive action from their four freshmen out of Chandler's Valley Christian High School, with setter Cheryl Anglin (Queen Creek, Ariz.) adding to her already freshman school record for assists in a season with 35 more. Defensive specialist Courtney Blocher (Scottsdale, Ariz.) had six digs, outside hitter Natalie Harris (Tempe, Ariz.) had a kill and three digs and Kim Mehlhorn (Tempe, Ariz.) added five kills. Redshirt freshman Mandy Stephens (Napa, Calif.) had six kills and two blocks. ASU (17-9) 12 10 7 UCLA (18-5) 15 15 15 ASU Statistical Leaders: KILLS: Burbridge (22) ASSISTS: Anglin (35) DIGS: Coughlin (14) BLOCKS: Mortensen (4), Burbridge (4) SERVICE ACES: Burbridge (2) Attendance: 898