UCLA
Florida International vs. UCLA
No. 1 UCLA Beats No. 8 FIU, 3-0
May 04, 2018 | Beach Volleyball
The Bruins advance in the winner's bracket to play No. 4 Florida State at 1:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. CT today on ESPNU.
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GULF SHORES, Ala. -- No. 1 UCLA extended its school-record dual match winning streak to 31 on Friday morning, winning the first dual match of the 2018 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, 3-0, over No. 8 FIU (23-11) at Gulf Shores Public Beach.
The Bruins, who improved to 36-3 on the year, will face No. 4 Florida State (31-6), which took down No. 5 USC, 3-1 on Friday morning. The Bruins and the Seminoles will square off at 1:00 p.m. PT/3:00 p.m. CT later today on ESPNU and ESPN3.
The Bruins opened the dual with FIU with a win on court four as senior Elise Zappia and freshman Mac May defeated FIU's Taija Thomas and Dorina Klinger in straight sets, 21-15, 21-14. The duo fell behind 6-1 at the start of the match, but went on a 13-4 run to take a 14-10 lead and went on to secure the first point of the dual for the Bruins.
"We had a little rough start on the bad side," May said. "But we caught fire and fought back and took the lead and kept the fire the rest of the match."
UCLA would take a 2-0 lead on court one as juniors Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara defeated the Panthers' Federica Frasca and Margherita Bianchin in straight sets, 21-10, 21-17.
"FIU is a great team and we have had battles with them two times previously," UCLA head coach Stein Metzger said. "The wind was stronger this morning than people expected, but I thought we handled it very well. I feel like we are really well prepared for the elements here."
Junior Zana Muno returned to the lineup after a three-week hiatus with an undisclosed injury and paired with her old partner, sophomore Savvy Simo, on court three. The Bruin duo sealed the match with a straight-set win over FIU's Katie Friesen and Anabela Sataric, 21-16, 21-14.
"We tried to focus on our court the whole time, but it is hard because you want to know how your team is doing," Simo said. "We knew two other teams had won so it was kind of a relief because we were up and we knew it was in our control. Having Zana (Muno) back is huge. I played with Madi (Yeomans) in the Pac-12 Championship and we had a lot of success. Zana is also a great player and we work well together. We fight, we never give up and I love playing with her."
Watch the full broadcast replay of No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 8 FIU by clicking here.
Watch the court one replay featuring the McNamara twins by clicking here.
Watch the court two replay featuring Justine and Sponcil by clicking here.
Watch the court three replay featuring Muno and Simo by clicking here.
Watch the court four replay featuring May and Zappia by clicking here.
Watch the court five replay featuring Carey and Muret by clicking here.
No. 1 UCLA def. No. 8 FIU, 3-0
Gulf Shores Public Beach • Gulf Shores, Ala.
Friday, May 4, 2018
Records: UCLA (36-3), FIU (23-11)
1. Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara (UCLA) def. Federica Frasca/Margherita Bianchin (FIU), 21-10, 21-17
2. Lily Justine/Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) vs. Lina Bernier/Erika Zembyia (FIU), 19-21, truncated
3. Zana Muno/Savvy Simo (UCLA) def. Katie Friesen/Anabela Sataric (FIU), 21-16, 21-14
4. Mac May/Elise Zappia (UCLA) def. Taija Thomas/Dorina Klinger (FIU), 21-15, 21-14
5. Izzy Carey/Megan Muret (UCLA) vs. Natalia Giron/Estefanie Bethancourt (FIU), 16-21, 21-10, truncated
Order of finish: 4, 1, 3*
