Women’s volleyball loses NCAA Regional semifinal against Penn State
Senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe scored a game-high 22 kills in the final installment of her college career. (Jose Ubeda/Daily Bruin staff)
By Alexis Williams
Dec. 15, 2014 4:02 a.m.
Three years ago, the No. 9 UCLA women’s volleyball team found itself in Kentucky for the Regional semifinal of the NCAA championship, looking across the net at No. 8 Penn State.
Not only did the Bruins upset the Nittany Lions with a 3-0 sweep that night, but the Bruins also continued to fight through the next three rounds to win the national championship against Illinois 3-1.
Three years later, the No. 12 UCLA women’s volleyball team once again found itself in Kentucky for the Regional semifinal, looking across the net at No. 5 Penn State.
But this time, there was no upset.
In the final match of the season for the UCLA women’s volleyball team, the Bruins fell to Penn State in the NCAA Regional semifinal in three sets, 26-28, 16-25 and 19-25.
“It’s obviously a bummer to lose and end the season like that, but they’re a good team, and a good team to lose to,” said senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe, who scored a match-high 22 kills in her career finale.
The Bruins were out for Nittany Lion blood, both to move onto the next round of the championship and to avenge Penn State’s 3-0 sweep earlier this season.
After the first set, it seemed history could repeat itself.
The Bruins saw 12 tied scores and four lead changes in their first set, playing at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. A kill from Lowe kept the Bruins fighting in overtime at 26-all, but despite the Bruins outhitting the Nittany Lions .293 to .289, they still fell by two in overtime, ending the match 26-28.
By the end of the second set though, it seemed less likely that the Bruins, with a 22-11 record heading into the night, could go 2-2 in third-round victories against Penn State. After trailing constantly and suffering a 10-point deficit, the Bruins were ready to fight for the third.
While the Bruins came out strong, scoring the first two points with a kill and a block, it wasn’t enough to best the Nittany Lions. After only an hour and a half, the Bruins had fallen out of the tournament.
“In the third set, when the match is pretty much done, the girls still fought,” said coach Michael Sealy. “They fought their way back into a respectable point total. It’s good to see them start the year fighting and end the year the same way.”
Though the current seniors didn’t achieve NCAA championships to bookend their careers, they played in the first three rounds of the postseason – a victory in itself after failure to qualify for the bracket last season and falling out of the tournament in the second round following the 2012 season.
“I think that it was a really great experience, and I think that I’ll carry it with me forever,” said senior middle blocker Zoë Nightingale.
The Bruins said they began this year with the simple goal of “becoming a new team,” and despite a Regional semifinal loss, their season record (22-12, 11-9 Pac-12) certainly redefined the program.
