UCLA
Florida State vs. UCLA
No. 2 UCLA Advances to Winner's Bracket Final
May 03, 2019 | Beach Volleyball
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GULF SHORES, Ala.ย -- No. 2 UCLA advanced to the Winner's Bracket Finalย of the 2019 NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship with a 3-0 win over No. 3 Florida Stateย onย Friday afternoonย at Gulf Shores Public Beach. It marked the first time that UCLA advanced to Saturday without a loss on Friday in four NCAA Championship appearances.
The Bruins, who improved to 33-3 on the year, will face No. 5 LSU, which took down No. 4 Pepperdine and No. 8 Stetson on Friday.ย The Bruins and the Tigersย will square off at 9:00 a.m. PT/11:00 a.m. CT on Saturday, May 4 on ESPN2.
For the first time in program history, UCLA had all five courts go to a third set. The Bruins opened the dual with Florida State with a win on courtย four as juniors Madi Yeomans and Savvy Simo, playing in the first dual together of the year, rallied to post a three-set win over FSU's Molly McBain and Payton Caffrey, 13-21, 21-19, 15-12. Yeomans had a double-double of 21 kills and 15 digs and added two aces and one block. Simo contributed nine kills and 14 digs to go with one ace and one block.
Seniors Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara put the Bruins up 2-0 with a three-set win on court one over Alaina Chacon and Madison Fitzpatrick, 19-21, 21-19, 15-7. The twins opened the third set by scoring the first seven points and never looked back. Nicole had 21 kills and added six kills and four aces. Megan added 16 kills and seven digs to go with two aces.
The clinching point came on court five as senior Izzy Carey and freshman Lindsey Sparks rallied to defeat FSU's Kate Privett and Macy Jerger, 21-13, 18-21, 15-13. The Bruins trailed 12-8 in the third set before engineering a 7-1 run to win the match. Sparks had a double-double of 18 kills and 14 digs and added a match-high five aces. Carey chipped in 12 kills, eight digs, three blocks and three aces.
The Bruins were involved in third sets on courts two and three that were not played to completion. Junior Lily Justine and senior Sarah Sponcilย were tied with Sara Putt and Payton Rund on court two, 23-25, 21-16, 9-9, before their match was truncated. Justine had 28 kills, 19 digs, five blocks and two aces while Sponcil registered nine kills, 14 digs, two blocks and one ace.
The same happened to freshman Abby Van Winkle and senior Zana Muno, who were tied with Brooke Kuhlman and Avery Poppinga, 23-21, 18-21, 7-7, before their match was truncated. Muno had 12 kills, 21 digs, and two aces while Van Winkle tallied 20 kills, five digs, three blocks, and one ace.
Watch the full broadcast replay ofย No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Florida Stateย byย clicking here.
Watch the court one replay featuring the McNamara twins byย clicking here.
Watch the court two replay featuring Justine and Sponcil byย clicking here.
Watch the court three replay featuring Muno and Van Winkle byย clicking here.
Watch the court four replay featuring Simo and Yeomans byย clicking here.
Watch the court five replay featuring Carey and Sparks byย clicking here.
NCAA Championship โ Winner's Bracket Semifinal
No. 2 UCLA def. No. 3 Florida State, 3-0
Gulf Shores Public Beach โข Gulf Shores, Ala.
Friday, May 3, 2019
Records: UCLA (33-3), FSU (29-6)
1. Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara (UCLA) def. Alaina Chacon/Madison Fitzpatrick (FSU), 19-21, 21-19, 15-7
2. Lily Justine/Sarah Sponcil (UCLA) vs. Sara Putt/Payton Rund (FSU), 23-25, 21-16, 9-9 truncated
3. Zana Muno/Abby Van Winkle (UCLA) vs. Brooke Kuhlman/Avery Poppinga (FSU), 23-21, 18-21, 7-7 truncated
4. Madi Yeomans/Savvy Simo (UCLA) def. Molly McBain/Payton Caffrey (FSU), 13-21, 21-19, 15-12
5. Izzy Carey/Lindsey Sparks (UCLA) def. Kate Privett/Macy Jerger (FSU), 21-13, 18-21, 15-13
Order of finish:ย 4, 1, 5*
