NCAA VOLLEYBALL : UCLA Faces Penn State in Rematch of ’94 Final

UCLA, upset by Penn State in the final of the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championships last year, will face the Nittany Lions again tonight for the national championship.

The top-ranked Bruins, 14-time national champions, advanced to the final with a 15-12, 15-9, 15-10 victory over Ball State Friday.

Penn State took 3 hours 9 minutes to eliminate Hawaii, 7-15, 15-13, 16-14, 6-15, 15-12.

UCLA (30-1) controlled the action from the outset behind the strong offensive play of NCAA player of the year Jeff Nygaard and Paul Nihipali. Ball State (24-9), the only team to beat UCLA this season, lost the opening game when setter Eduardo Ferraz dumped a return wide.

UCLA’s Stein Metzger had 41 assists in the first two games.

With the score 8-8 in the third game, UCLA went on a 5-0 run, with Nygaard making two scoring blocks. On the second match point, Metzger served and Erik Sullivan made the final kill.

Against Hawaii, Penn State (26-3),moved in front early in the final game and was ahead 14-9 before Hawaii staved off three consecutive match points. Penn State’s Ivan Contreras ended it with a kill.