Junior Lily Justine and senior Sarah Sponcil fell in two sets to No. 7 seed Hawai’i on court two Friday. The loss tied the dual at 1-1, which later became tied again at 2-2. It was finally decided in a three-set match on court one – in which UCLA prevailed.
Senior Megan McNamara (right) blows a kiss to her teammates after she and senior Nicole McNamara (left) defeated Hawai’i on court one in three sets. The win clinched the dual 3-2 for the Bruins on Friday morning.
Senior Zana Muno reacts after No. 3 seed Florida State scores a point on court three Friday afternoon. Muno and freshman Abby Van Winkle won the first set but dropped the second. The match was suspended after the Bruins took three set victories on courts one, four and five.
Sponcil and Justine dropped their first set to FSU on Friday afternoon, but bounced back to win the second. The match was suspended while at a 9-9 tie in the third set.
Junior Savvy Simo looks at her partner, junior Madi Yeomans, with glee after coming back to win the second set over FSU. The match was the pair’s first of the season, but the two went 4-0 together last season when Yeomans stepped in for Muno, who was injured.
Yeomans jumps into Simo’s arms to celebrate the duo’s three-set win over FSU, which gave UCLA its first point of the afternoon.
Megan McNamara digs an FSU serve on court one en route to a 19-21, 21-19, 15-7 victory that gave the Bruins their second point of the dual. All five courts went to three sets before UCLA’s court five pair clinched the win.
Senior Izzy Carey knuckles the ball over the net to extend the Bruins’ lead on court five. Carey and freshman Lindsey Sparks secured UCLA’s 3-0 win over FSU to send the Bruins to the winners bracket final on Saturday.
Sponcil pokes the ball past No. 5 seed LSU’s Olivia Powers on court two. Sponcil and Justine defeated the Tigers in straight sets, earning their first win of the weekend.
Sparks (left) sets the ball to Carey (right) in the court five match against LSU on Saturday. The pair went on to clinch the dual for the Bruins – for the second match in a row – with a straight-set win.
The Bruins rush the court following the court five dual-clinching victory on Saturday, which secured UCLA’s spot in the NCAA championship final.
The Bruins raise their fists in a postwin huddle following an eight-clap that celebrated their chance to defend their national title. UCLA will face the winner of the elimination bracket at 11 a.m on Sunday.