USC, UCLA could play for national title in women’s volleyball

It has been 30 years since USC and UCLA met with a national championship in women’s volleyball on the line, but it could happen Saturday in the Alamodome at San Antonio.

UCLA (28-6) plays Florida State (28-6) at 4 p.m. PST and USC (29-4) meets Illinois (31-4) at 6 p.m. in semifinal matches Thursday that will be televised on ESPN2. The winners advance to the final Saturday at 5:30 p.m. PST, also on ESPN2.

UCLA, led by junior outside hitter Rachael Kidder, could be peaking at the right time. The Bruins swept four-time defending national champion Penn State in a regional semifinal and then eliminated top-seeded Texas in four games in the Lexington, Ky., regional final.

Florida State, the first Atlantic Coast Conference team to qualify for the final four, beat Iowa State in five games to win the Minneapolis regional.

USC enters its match having won 12 straight and 24 of its last 25. The Trojans defeated host Hawaii and Pepperdine in the Honolulu regional, where they were led by All-American outside hitter Alex Jupiter, who had 50 kills in USC’s wins.

Illinois has won seven straight, including its regional final victory over host Florida at Gainesville. Colleen Ward, an All-American outside hitter, had 23 kills in the title match and was voted the regional’s most valuable player.

USC and UCLA split two meetings this season, the Bruins winning, 3-0, on Sept. 9 at the Galen Center, and the Trojans winning, 3-1, on Nov. 25 at the Wooden Center.