It’s finally time for Lauren Fendrick to bloom. After
three years of staying in the shadows of four-year starters Erika
Selsor, Ashley Bowles and Kristee Porter, Fendrick is finally ready
to step into the limelight.
It was just three years ago the senior outside hitter was a
nervous freshman, and now she is the epitome of the calm, stable
influence on the court. It’s a role she says she’s
ready for, and a role the Bruins badly need to be filled in order
to have any hopes of a successful season.
“I love the fact that my role on the team has
grown,” Fendrick said. “I’ve always wanted to
have that leadership role, but I’ve been playing behind the
big seniors. It’s fun to have learned from them and played
around them, but now it’s my turn. I feel relaxed on the
court, and I don’t get pressured by big gyms and rowdy
crowds.”
Fendrick will be the only four-year starter on a relatively
youthful team. Head coach Andy Banachowski will be counting on her
to lead her younger teammates.
“She’s improved every year since she’s been
here,” Banachowski said. “She’s fun to watch
because she’s so balanced and skilled in every aspect of the
game.”
Fendrick grew up in Carlsbad, just north of San Diego. As a
whole, Carlsbad is better known for its surfing than volleyball,
but Fendrick did neither as a child. Rather, she took up tennis.
However, she tired of the sport, and in high school, when she tried
out for club volleyball, it was a match made in heaven.
She finished her high school career as a first-team volleyball
All-American, and she led the USA Volleyball Youth National Team
during the summer of 1998 in kills. As a freshman, Fendrick saw
significant playing time.
“I remember how nervous I was,” Fendrick said.
“We were playing in front of some huge crowds and playing
some big games. But I also remember how it feels to be a freshman,
so I try to provide some support to my younger teammates that way
now.”
For the past two years since her freshman year, Fendrick has
utilized an aggressive style with improved balanced play. She has
gradually increased her kills per game average, leading the team
with 3.94 per game last year.
During her sophomore season, she had 54 aces, the first Bruin to
do so since 1991. She made the 2001 All-Pac 10 Honorable Mention
team. Fendrick was quickly becoming a household name in the college
volleyball world.
“I just try to focus on the moment and not be affected by
what just happened or what I think will happen,” Fendrick
said. “If you don’t, then that’s when nerves come
into play and you get beat.”
Fendrick’s senior season is already off to a great start.
She is currently leading the team in kills, and on Sep. 7, she
surpassed 1,000 kills for her Bruin career. Through it all,
Fendrick is rather ho-hum about it. She says she’s more
concerned with the final score on the scoreboard.
“I consider myself to be very balanced,” Fendrick
said. “I’m competitive, but I know not to be a sore
loser. I’m very laid back, but I’m also very
focused.”
She’s not just balanced on the court, however. She is both
a cognitive science and communication studies student. Last year,
she was named to the first-team All-Pac 10 All-Academic team. But
even in regard to this, Fendrick just shrugs her shoulders.
“Academics is important to me, but not as important as
volleyball,” Fendrick said. “It’s nice to know
I’ll have options open after volleyball, and I just hate
being tied down.”
Ideally, she says, she would test her skills on the beach
volleyball circuit, where she played this past summer.
“It was so fun,” Fendrick said. “It’s
frustrating at the beginning because you have to make the
transition between indoor and beach. Forty-year-old ladies were
beating us, but as the summer progressed, we got a lot
better.”
For now, Fendrick is simply happy with her role on the team. She
scoffs at those who call this a rebuilding year for UCLA, and being
a four-year starter has its duties.
“I try to keep it calm out there on the court,”
Fendrick said. “We have good chemistry. Our team is so
different than last year, opposing teams won’t know what to
expect.”
What they can expect is Lauren Fendrick, manning her outside
hitter position, going about her business and getting the job
done.