NCAA VOLLEYBALL : UCLA, USC Face Stiffer Tests as Pursuit of Title Resumes

No. 8 UCLA and No. 17 USC will try to stay alive tonight in the NCAA regional women’s volleyball tournament.

UCLA (22-8), which lost to Stanford in last season’s championship, will play Ohio State (22-7) in a Central Regional semifinal at Lincoln, Neb.

The Bruins, led by Jenny Johnson and Kim Krull, defeated Ball State in the second round Saturday after a first-round bye. UCLA, which has won five NCAA titles, has not won a national championship since 1991.

USC (18-8) will try to end Stanford’s dominance over the Trojans when the teams meet in the Pacific Regional semifinals at Palo Alto.

In the last 10 years, Stanford (27-2) has knocked USC out of the tournament seven times, including last year when the Cardinal defeated the Trojans in the Pacific Regional final.

USC lost to Stanford twice during the regular season, but the Trojans are on a roll after sweeping both North Texas and Pacific in three games in the first two rounds. Senior Kelly Kuebler has 20 kills and 10 digs against Pacific.