ED RHEE Senior outside hitter Kristee Porter, just back from an "extra benefits" suspension, sets her sights on a first-ever Final Four appearance.
By Diamond Leung
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
It was supposed to be a big night for UCLA’s Kristee Porter. With crosstown rival USC coming to Westwood, two of the top volleyball teams in the nation were going to go at it. Porter, a senior, was supposed to get one final chance to beat the Trojans.
But Porter already knew that Oct. 19 would be a long night. For her, there would be no cross-court kills, no service aces down the line and no sprawling digs. There would be no way for the two-time All-American outside hitter to help her team on the court. For the first time in her life, she was going to miss a match.
Two days earlier, Porter had informed head coach Andy Banachowski of her inadvertent “extra benefits” violation of NCAA regulations. Porter was involved in an improper expense-sharing arrangement with a roommate in her apartment. UCLA had no choice but to declare her ineligible for competition.
“I let down my teammates – the people who have depended on me,” Porter said. “I also let down the fans. People never have to be disappointed in me because I’m always going to be the most disappointed in myself.”
And when the Trojans danced on the floor of Pauley Pavilion in celebration of their five-game come-from-behind victory that night, Porter could only stand on the sidelines in disappointment and watch. She still slapped her teammates high-fives, signed autographs for young fans and tried to hold up that smile of hers – a smile that stirs even the most hardened cynic.
But the smile faded. Not being able to play ate at Porter. The team had initially hoped she would be reinstated in a few days, but days became a week. And a week became a month. The university’s investigation into the violation dragged on.
With the Pac-10’s all-time leader in kills unavailable, the Bruins quickly became a mediocre team. At times they struggled against conference bottom-dwellers, were upset by Oregon State and clobbered by powerhouses Arizona, Stanford and Pepperdine.
“It was really hard to watch the team compete – a team I’ve been a part of for years and years,” she said. “To not be able to play and for the team to struggle, it was heartbreaking.”
Porter, meanwhile, tried to keep herself busy, sparingly practicing with the volleyball team. She needed sports to stay sane. During road trips, however, when Porter was unable to travel with her teammates, things got even tougher for her.
“Once I had that down time, I drove myself crazy,” she said. “Sports have been my life. I thought, ‘What do I do now?’”
Porter is a woman whose life revolves around athletics. In the fall, she plays volleyball as a National Player of the Year candidate. In the winter, she plays basketball as the Pac-10’s second-leading rebounder last year. In the spring, she competes in track and field as a third-place finisher in the triple jump in last year’s Pac-10 Championships.
All of a sudden, she was forced to take some time away from it all.
“It was the first time I’ve done that in as long as I can remember,” Porter said. “Positive things came out of it. It gave me a mental and physical break.”
Finally, UCLA submitted its final report on Porter’s case to the NCAA on Nov. 20 – the day the regular season ended. One day later, she was back.
“Coach Banachowski called me right away,” senior outside hitter Ashley Bowles said. “He said, ‘Happy Thanksgiving.’”
The NCAA had penalized Porter for 50 percent of the season, and since she had already sat out exactly half the season, she became eligible for competition. In an instant, Porter went from believing her volleyball career was over to preparing for the playoffs. At the 11th hour, she was given a second chance. Things worked out perfectly for her.
“I can’t even express how I felt in words,” Porter said. “I have my life back now. Everything is falling back into place.”
The NCAA Volleyball Committee, recognizing Porter’s reinstatement, generously awarded UCLA the eighth seed in the tournament. The committee shipped the Bruins off to the East Coast for their first and second round matches of the NCAA Tournament, but with Porter leading the way, the Bruins swept both Penn and Penn State on their way to the Sweet 16.
“My teammates asked me in Penn State if I was nervous, and I was like, ‘No, no, no’ because I didn’t want to scare them,” Porter said, laughing. “People think I never get nervous. The whole time I was playing, I was terrified.”
If she was terrified, imagine how the opposition must have felt. Porter racked up 17 kills along with 17 digs against Penn and 19 kills against Penn State. All of those figures were match-highs. Blasting six kills per game in her first two matches back isn’t too shabby at all. To Penn State, Porter was just plain scary.
“There’s not a woman who can stop her,” Nittany Lion head coach Russ Rose said. “You’d have to have men on your team to stop her.”
“And even then, you’d have to have men who could actually dig her,” Rose added.
When told of Rose’s comments, Porter laughed. Then she smiled.
“I’m not the most perfect individual by far,” she said. “I make a lot of mistakes. They’re only mental, but I still have lots of flaws in my game.
Porter also insists that she is still adjusting, feeling “a bit awkward” on the court. She’s still not quite in the groove, she says. Her team, however, isn’t buying any of it.
“She’s our terminator out there,” Banachowski said. “Knowing you have her attacking arsenal, you’ve got to feel pretty good.”
“I know Kristee was a little worried, but she definitely has it all back,” Bowles added.
And just in time for another run at the championship. Porter, seeking her first-ever trip to the Final Four, will play in the Sweet 16 tonight in Long Beach against Hawai’i.
“I feel good about our chances going in,” she said. “It’s good to be able to get back out there. I feel like I’m complete again.”