USC Rolls Its Way Into the Final Four

For the second night in a row, the USC women’s volleyball team swept the competition, but this time it earned the Trojans their first Final Four appearance since 1985.

Junior middle blocker Jennifer Pahl had a match-high 16 kills, April Ross had 13 and Katie Olsovsky added 12 as the Trojans easily handled Penn State, 15-11, 15-9, 15-4, in the Pacific Region final at the Sports Arena on Friday.

“I’m really proud of how we executed,” said USC interim Coach Jerritt Elliott, whose team swept Florida on Thursday. “We wanted to push the tempo at them tonight with a fast attack.”

No. 2 USC (29-2) will face the winner of the Mideast Region--UCLA or Wisconsin--in one of Thursday’s national semifinal matches at Richmond, Va.

USC limited Penn State (30-6) to a .159 hitting percentage as the Trojans recorded one at .425.

UCLA d. Pacific, 15-10, 10-15, 15-11, 15-11--Kristee Porter had a team-high 22 kills and Elisabeth Bachman and Ashley Bowles had 19 apiece as the Bruins (25-7) defeated the Tigers (28-4) in a Mideast Region semifinal match at Madison, Wis.

UCLA will face Wisconsin in the region final tonight at 5 p.m. PDT. Wisconsin defeated Kansas State, 15-3, 14-16, 15-10, 15-6.

Porter has 706 kills this season, which breaks the Pacific 10 Conference record of 703 set by Oregon’s Teri Kramer in 1986.

“We turned the match around in Game 3 with a great blocking run,” UCLA Coach Andy Banachowski said.

In Game 3, the Bruins trailed 8-4, but eventually took a 12-11 lead, one they wouldn’t relinquish, behind the serving of sophomore Lauren Fendrick.

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Late Thursday night in Honolulu, Long Beach State (24-8) saw its season end after Hawaii (30-1) emerged with an 11-15, 15-13, 15-9, 12-15, 15-6 victory. Hawaii faced UC Santa Barbara in the West Region final late Friday.

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Regions

* Mideast final: Today, UCLA vs. Wisconsin, at Madison, Wis., 5 PST.

* Central final: Today, Arizona vs. Nebraska at Lincoln, Neb., 5 PST.

* Pacific winner: USC

* West winner: Hawaii or UC Santa Barbara