This Time, Evans Set on Winning Title : Volleyball: After losing in the national semifinals the past two years, she and her top-ranked UCLA teammates are planning to get the job done.

Jenny Evans has had all kinds of brushes with greatness while playing volleyball at Newport Harbor High School and UCLA.

Take her high school career. The Sailors were 59-6 in her three years on the Newport Harbor varsity but never won a state championship.

The success, and frustration, has continued at UCLA. The Bruins were 64-4 the past two seasons and entered the Final Four ranked No. 1 both times, only to lose in the semifinals.

“It’s really tough, because no one can pinpoint what went wrong in the Final Four games,” Evans said. “I guess we felt comfortable where we were going into the finals the last two years.”

With the NCAA tournament a month away, Evans and the Bruins (21-1, 13-0 in the Pac-10) are hoping this time to hang on to their No. 1 ranking.

“This year, we know what can happen once we get there (Final Four),” Evans said. “It was so hard to believe we could do so well in the regular season, then lose when we got to the Final Four.”

Evans, a 5-foot-10 outside hitter, isn’t the only one trying to figure out UCLA’s late-season slides.

Coach Andy Banachowski, who has led the Bruins to four national titles in 24 years at the school, has been scrambling to find a way to motivate his team for the finals.

“Both times, we played well all year long,” he said. “But we weren’t tested enough in the regular season. When we got to the Final Four, we had nothing to fall back on.”

The Bruins are getting plenty of tests this year, with a schedule Banachowski says is the second-toughest in the nation. They have played seven top 20 teams, losing only to Nebraska in their fourth match.

Evans has played well in the Bruins’ big matches. She had 24 kills in the Nebraska loss and had a season-high 32 in a recent victory over fifth-ranked Stanford.

“Matches like the one against Stanford are really going to help us when the NCAA tournament starts,” Banachowski said.

The Bruins’ 18-game winning streak will be on the line Friday and Saturday when they play second-ranked Hawaii and No. 13 Long Beach State in a tournament at Pauley Pavilion.

Evans, a junior, has been a big part of UCLA’s offense and defense. She’s second on the team in kills (320), first in aces (30) and second in digs (300).

“Everyone notices her hitting right away,” Banachowski said. “But she has improved her game in every area. She passes the ball well. Her serving has improved tremendously.”

After a knee injury sidelined All-American Elaine Youngs, the Bruins had to find a new all-around threat.

It was Evans, who has always been adept at scoring big points with a big thump.

“We’re using her in a different light this year,” Banachowski said. “We’ve had to give her the ball more with Elaine out. That’s a role she was used to when she was in high school.”

Evans relishes it but is quick to add that the Bruins have a more balanced attack than in the past.

“Last year, we had one powerhouse (Youngs) controlling the game,” she said. “This year, everyone has a role. It’s hard to pick out just one person because everyone is contributing.”

Evans is one of five Orange County players at UCLA. She and Marissa Hatchett (Sunny Hills) are starters. Laurie Jones (Huntington Beach) and Jennifer Gratteau (Marina) are key players off the bench. Youngs (El Toro) is out for the season.

“At first it was kind of weird playing with all of them,” Evans said. “I had played against Jennifer, Elaine and Laurie for five years in club volleyball. Then, all of a sudden, we were teammates.

“But I knew UCLA was going to have a good team with all the players it had coming into the program. I wanted to be a part of that.”

In 1987, her senior year at Newport Harbor, Evans was Volleyball Monthly magazine’s national co-player of the year along with Julie Bremner of the College of St. Francis (Ill.). Evans helped the Sailors win the Southern Section 5-A title, but they lost to Irvine in the state finals.

Evans had several scholarship offers for volleyball. She thought about attending Pepperdine, where her sister Julie played, but settled on UCLA.

“I was right in between Pepperdine and UCLA,” she said. “Making the national team is one of my goals, and I know the coaches look at a lot of UCLA players. But the tryouts are still a long time away.”

In the meantime, she wouldn’t mind winning a national title with the Bruins.