UCLA Keeps Volleyball Title : NCAA final: Bruin women lose first two games to CS Long Beach, then rally to win last three. Williams leads the way with 32 kills.

The UCLA women’s volleyball team, which had taken a roller-coaster ride through most of the regular season, rode another one Saturday night, this time to the top.

Having lost the first two games against Cal State Long Beach, UCLA fought back to force a fifth, and before 7,177 at Pauley Pavilion, rolled on to successfully defend its NCAA championship.

The final score was 12-15, 13-15, 15-12, 15-6, 15-11.

“It was typical, with the season we had, to make a comeback like that,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said. “It was a tremendous comeback. To be down 2-0 like that, and to come back. It shows this team has a lot of heart.”

Indeed. The same team that had dropped to new lows during the season, being ranked nationally as low as ninth at times, seemed to be sinking fast when Long Beach set it back two games a little more than an hour after the first serve.

But then the team that had dominated its last nine opponents, beating all by scores of 3-0, surfaced and showed it still had the ability to come from behind.

The players piled in a heap when Natalie Williams put the ball away for the final point. Tears rolled from their cheeks when they accepted their championship plaques in the middle of the court.

“Incredible,” a jubilant Elaine Youngs said. The junior hitter sat out last season because of a knee injury and missed the Bruins’ title run.

“This has been my goal ever since I came to UCLA,” Youngs said. “And to win it at home makes it a million times better.”

Williams, who had 32 kills to lead all players, said: “This is the best feeling I’ve ever had.”

As for Long Beach (36-2), a team that many regarded as the nation’s best despite its No. 2 ranking, the defeat was especially disheartening because of the manner in which it came.

Senior hitter Antoinnette White could barely speak after the match and could only say she felt her team never lost its confidence.

Long Beach Coach Brian Gimmillaro did not credit the Bruins as much as he discredited the rally-scoring system, whereby points in the fifth game are awarded after every serve.

The system, which has been used by the Pacific 10 Conference but not the Big West this season, was used in an NCAA tournament for the first time.

Still, Gimmillaro did not blame the system on his team’s loss.

“We definitely had our opportunities,” he said. “The turning point was in Game 3 when we were up, 12-11, where they said (the ball) was touched and it went long. That took the momentum out of our sails.”

Long Beach, with its fast-paced offense, caught the Bruins off-guard often in the first two games, and it looked as though the championship would come easily for the 49ers.

Long Beach opened a 9-3 lead and appeared to be streaking to a quick victory.

The Bruins fought back to get within one, 13-12. Youngs hit the ball wide to give the 49ers a two-point lead and Long Beach’s Sabrina Hernandez put the game away.

“We came out shaky in the first two games,” UCLA middle blocker Marissa Hatchett said. “In the last three we settled down a bit and realized what we had to do--and we played our hearts out.”