NCAA Women’s Volleyball Playoffs : UCLA Sweeps Washington, Gains Final Four

It is still the No. 1 women’s volleyball team in the country, and for good reason.

Saturday night, UCLA beat fired-up Washington, 15-7, 16-14, 15-9, to win the West Regional championship at Pauley Pavilion and earn a berth in the final four at Minneapolis.

The Bruins (34-0) will play No. 6 Texas (32-5) Thursday in the semifinals at Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota. Texas defeated Texas Arlington in 3 games to win the South Regional championship Saturday. Illinois will play Hawaii in the other semifinal.

There was speculation before Saturday’s match that the Huskies (22-7) would be so fired up after defeating No. 2 Stanford Friday that an upset of UCLA was, well, thinkable.

“I hate to say this, but I didn’t think we would win in 3 straight,” said Bruin Elaine Youngs, who had 13 kills. “I thought they would at least win one game.”

They almost did. Led by All-American Laurie Wetzel, who had 19 kills and 9 digs, Washington put up a hard fight in the final 2 games but just couldn’t match the relentless Bruins, who kept coming back.

The Bruins dominated the first game with an 8-0 run to take an 11-3 lead. They held the Huskies to 4 more points before senior setter Ann Boyer put the game away with an ace.

The Bruins broke down early in the second game, handing Washington its first 3 points on errors to tie the score, 3-3.

Wetzel hit into the net to put the Bruins up, 4-3, but then made 7 sideouts to keep the score close.

Jenny Crocker’s spike off a block put the Bruins ahead, 7-6, and she helped the Bruins take leads of 10-6 and 14-9 before Washington fought back to score the next 5 points and tie it, 14-14.

“We just let down and didn’t have the same intensity in the second game,” said Boyer, whose 51 assists and 13 digs kept the Bruins steady.

“But once we got our confidence back, I knew we would come back.”

That confidence came back when the Huskies hit it long and Samantha Shaver, who led the Bruins with 17 digs, spiked the ball for the game point. Laurie Jones and Daiva Tomkus tied with 16 kills for UCLA.

“I wasn’t worried in that second game, but more agitated,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said.

“I thought we had the match under control after that first game, and I thought they (the Huskies) were ours. Then we let it slip away. It was time to get it over with.”

But the Bruins took their time putting the third game away as the score changed hands 6 times. Tomkus’ powerful serve rebounded to Boyer, who hammered the ball down the line for a 9-8 Bruin lead.

Two more spikes each by Crocker and Youngs, and a crosscourt kill by Shaver put the Bruins on a plane to Minneapolis.

“I felt confident from the first game that we would win tonight,” said Boyer, who is the only senior on the team. “I got a taste of the final four my freshman year, and I’m glad our freshmen will get the chance to be there. This is a good way to go out.”

The Bruins last made a trip to the final four in 1985, when they lost in the first round. They have won four national championships, the last one in 1984.

Earlier this season, the Bruins defeated Texas twice, 3-0 and 3-1.