UCLA
Long Beach State (2nd Round)
Louisville Bound: 12th-Seeded Bruins Sweep Long Beach State
December 07, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
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2014 UCLA Women's Volleyball Media Guide
LOS ANGELES - Senior Karsta Lowe had a match-high 24 kills to go with nine digs, while senior Julie Consani added a double-double with 42 assists and 10 digs, as the 12th-seeded Bruins swept Long Beach State on Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Pauley Pavilion. Set scores were 27-25, 25-15, 25-14.
The Bruins, who improve to 22-11 on the season, will take on #5 Penn State on Friday, Dec. 12 in the Regional Semifinals in Louisville, Ky. at the KFC Yum! Center. The match will be televised on ESPN3.com and will start at 4 p.m. PT.
Lowe added a .365 hitting percentage, while Consani, who posted her fifth double-double of the season, set the Bruins to a .369 clip. It marked the 56th-straight match UCLA has won when hitting .300 or better. Sophomore Claire Felix had 10 kills and just one error in 22 attempts (.409) with a career-high seven blocks. Freshman Reily Buechler hit .312 with seven kills, sophomore Taylor Formico had eight digs, junior Rachel Inouye added six digs and junior Karly Drolson posted five digs.
Set one featured nine ties, as it took four set points until the home team won the opener. UCLA trailed 5-3 early, but scored four of five to take its first lead of the match at 7-6. Lowe had a kill and a block during the run, senior Zoë Nightingale recorded a kill and Long Beach State (27-5) served an error. With the Bruins up 10-9, a 5-2 run gave the home team a set-best lead of four at 15-11.
Despite three more ties and three set points saved by Long Beach, the Bruins won the opener 27-25. A 49er attack error made it 24-22, but Long Beach State scored the next two to even it at 24. A kill by freshman Olga Strantzali made it 25-24, but the third set point was saved by the 49ers. Lowe gave UCLA a fourth set point and Felix crushed an over pass to finish off the two-point win. Lowe had nine kills in the first, Felix added four with no errors in eight attempts and Strantzali posted three, as the Bruins out-hit the 49ers .318 to .256.
The Bruins only trailed once in set two at 4-3. At 6-all, UCLA went on runs of 5-1, 12-5 and 19-9 to close the set with a 25-15 victory. The 5-1 run came on three Lowe kills, one by Nightingale and a Long Beach attack error. At 12-8, the Bruins went on a 6-2 run on two Lowe kills, a Nightingale ace, kills from Buechler and Felix and a 49er attack error.
The largest lead for the Bruins was 10, which was also the difference of score in the second, as a Strantzali kill put the home team up 2-0 for the match. Lowe had nine more kills in the second with just one error in 16 swings, accounting for nine of the team's 16 kills. She also added four digs, while Consani posted five, as the Bruins out-hit the 49ers .483 to .152.
After committing just two hitting errors in set two, the Bruins had only one in the third to finish off the sweep. UCLA never trailed, with only one tie at 1-all. The Bruins scored the next five points on four blocks and a 49er attack error. Felix was in on all four of the blocks, with one solo, two with Consani and one with Buechler. The closest Long Beach State would get the rest of the way was three.
At 20-14, the Bruins scored the last five points of the match to win the third 25-14. A Lowe kill, a Nightingale ace, a Felix kill and another Lowe kill gave the Bruins a slew of match points and the third set finished on UCLA's seventh block of the set, as Felix and Strantzali teamed up to send the Bruins into the next round. Lowe was six for 14 with no errors in the third with four digs, Felix was 4-for-9 with no miscues and six blocks and Strantzali was 3-for-8 with no errors. The Bruins out-hit the 49ers .342 to .028.
