With only the top 16 teams left in the NCAA tournament, the UCLA women’s volleyball team will face its biggest challenge yet.
“It’s going to take a lot but I think we can do it,” said senior middle blocker Zoë Nightingale.
After two consecutive wins in the first and second rounds of 2014 NCAA women’s volleyball tournament over the past week, the Bruins will face the defending champions in the No. 5 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in Louisville, Ky.
UCLA claimed 3-0 victories against LIU Brooklyn in the first round and Long Beach State in the second on Dec. 5 and 6, respectively.
“Both nights were team wins,” said senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe. “On the second night we really pulled together and played Bruin volleyball.”
Now, the Bruins look forward to playing against the Nittany Lions at the KFC Yum! Center on Dec. 12 at 4 p.m.
“We are really fired up,” Lowe said. “We want to show the nation that we have what it takes to take them down.”
Penn State currently holds a record of 32-3, after its two consecutive 3-0 wins against Siena and Dayton last week in the first and second rounds of the tournament. UCLA’s consecutive wins resulted in an improved record of 22-11 for the Bruins.
“At this point, we’ve had a good season so the pressure is off. We are just going out to have fun.” Nightingale said. “We have an underdog mentality now so it (will be) fun to go up against Penn State.”
The Nittany Lions will face the No. 12 seed Bruins for a ticket to play in the regional finals the next day, Dec. 13. Penn State has made 34 appearances in the NCAA tournament, which includes this year, and holds a total of six championships, including last year’s. UCLA played Penn State earlier this season but ended in a Bruin loss.
“I think they are beatable but they are also a really good team,” Nightingale said. “We have played them earlier this year and we have improved so much since then.”
The regional winners will travel to Oklahoma City to play in the semifinals and finals of the NCAA tournament on Dec. 18 and 20, respectively.
With the NCAA championships just more than a week away, the Bruins will focus on their game and look to advance further. UCLA will need to win out its next three games to be able to claim the school’s 113th national championship.
“It’s our ball control. It’s us playing our game of volleyball,” said coach Michael Sealy. “We are focused on what we do.”