Saturday, May 4
Gulf Shores, AL
12:30 PM
UCLA
3
vs
1
LSU
Redshirt freshman Kenzie Brower (15) and Jessie Smith (11) clinched the dual win. The pair are currently 3-0 in the NCAA Championship, the first for Brower.
Photo by: Marie Goldfarb
No. 2 UCLA Advances to NCAA Championship Dual
May 04, 2024 | Beach Volleyball
GULF SHORES, Ala. -- No. 2 UCLA (35-6) advanced to the NCAA Championship final dual with a 3-1 victory over 11th-ranked and 11th-seeded LSU (27-12) on Saturday afternoon at Gulf Beach Place. The Bruins improved to 19-2 all-time in the series against the Tigers with their 11th-straight win over LSU.
UCLA's tandem of graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh and senior Tessa Van Winkle put the Bruins on the board first with an easy win on court four over LSU's Skylar Martin and Amber Haynes, 21-9, 21-11. The Bruin duo dominated the match, holding LSU to .182 hitting (13K, 7E, 33TA). Whitmarsh hit a match-high .583 (17K, 3E, 24TA) and added nine digs and four aces. Van Winkle had five kills, four blocks, three digs, and one ace.
LSU's Parker Bracken and Reilly Allred tied the dual at 1-1 with a hard-fought win on court two over graduate student Devon Newberry and senior Peri Brennan, 23-21, 21-18. Brennan finished the match with 13 kills, three aces, and three digs while Newberry had 11 kills, six digs, two blocks, and one ace.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead after graduate student Lexy Denaburg and sophomore Maggie Boyd posted a straight-set win on court one over the Tigers' Gabi Bailey and Ellie Shank, 21-19, 21-14. Denaburg hit .567 on a match-high 20 kills (3E, 30TA) to go with three digs, three aces, and one block. Boyd had a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs to go with three aces.
UCLA's pair of redshirt freshman Kenzie Brower and junior Jessie Smith clinched the dual on court three with a straight-set win over Ella Larkin and Aubrey O'Gorman, 21-19, 21-19. Brower had a match-high 15 kills to hit .778 (15K, 1E, 18TA) to go with five aces, one block, and one dig. Smith hit .667 (11K, 1E, 15TA) and posted a double-double with 11 digs and added one block.
The Bruins on court five, redshirt freshman Ensley Alden and junior Natalie Myszkowski, saw their match truncated. They dropped the first set, 25-23, to LSU's Emily Meyer and Yali Ashush, but were leading, 11-10, at the technical timeout in the second set.
UP NEXT: UCLA will face No. 1 USC in the finals of the NCAA Championship on Sunday, May 5 at 10:00 a.m. CT/8:00 a.m. PT. The Trojans (36-5) and the Bruins have split the season series, 3-3.
No. 2 UCLA def. No. 11 LSU, 3-1
Gulf Beach Place • Gulf Shores, Ala.
Saturday, May 4, 2024 • 12:30 PM PT
Records: UCLA (35-6), LSU (27-12)
1. Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Gabi Bailey/Ellie Shank (LSU) 21-19, 21-14
2. Parker Bracken/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Devon Newberry/Peri Brennan (UCLA) 23-21, 21-18
3. Kenzie Brower/Jessie Smith (UCLA) def. Ella Larkin/Aubrey O'Gorman (LSU) 21-19, 21-19
4. Jaden Whitmarsh/Tessa Van Winkle (UCLA) def. Skylar Martin/Amber Haynes (LSU) 21-9, 21-11
5. Natalie Myszkowski/Ensley Alden (UCLA) vs. Emily Meyer/Yali Ashush (LSU) 23-25, 11-10, truncated
Order of finish: 4, 2, 1, 3*
UCLA's tandem of graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh and senior Tessa Van Winkle put the Bruins on the board first with an easy win on court four over LSU's Skylar Martin and Amber Haynes, 21-9, 21-11. The Bruin duo dominated the match, holding LSU to .182 hitting (13K, 7E, 33TA). Whitmarsh hit a match-high .583 (17K, 3E, 24TA) and added nine digs and four aces. Van Winkle had five kills, four blocks, three digs, and one ace.
LSU's Parker Bracken and Reilly Allred tied the dual at 1-1 with a hard-fought win on court two over graduate student Devon Newberry and senior Peri Brennan, 23-21, 21-18. Brennan finished the match with 13 kills, three aces, and three digs while Newberry had 11 kills, six digs, two blocks, and one ace.
The Bruins took a 2-1 lead after graduate student Lexy Denaburg and sophomore Maggie Boyd posted a straight-set win on court one over the Tigers' Gabi Bailey and Ellie Shank, 21-19, 21-14. Denaburg hit .567 on a match-high 20 kills (3E, 30TA) to go with three digs, three aces, and one block. Boyd had a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs to go with three aces.
UCLA's pair of redshirt freshman Kenzie Brower and junior Jessie Smith clinched the dual on court three with a straight-set win over Ella Larkin and Aubrey O'Gorman, 21-19, 21-19. Brower had a match-high 15 kills to hit .778 (15K, 1E, 18TA) to go with five aces, one block, and one dig. Smith hit .667 (11K, 1E, 15TA) and posted a double-double with 11 digs and added one block.
The Bruins on court five, redshirt freshman Ensley Alden and junior Natalie Myszkowski, saw their match truncated. They dropped the first set, 25-23, to LSU's Emily Meyer and Yali Ashush, but were leading, 11-10, at the technical timeout in the second set.
UP NEXT: UCLA will face No. 1 USC in the finals of the NCAA Championship on Sunday, May 5 at 10:00 a.m. CT/8:00 a.m. PT. The Trojans (36-5) and the Bruins have split the season series, 3-3.
No. 2 UCLA def. No. 11 LSU, 3-1
Gulf Beach Place • Gulf Shores, Ala.
Saturday, May 4, 2024 • 12:30 PM PT
Records: UCLA (35-6), LSU (27-12)
1. Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) def. Gabi Bailey/Ellie Shank (LSU) 21-19, 21-14
2. Parker Bracken/Reilly Allred (LSU) def. Devon Newberry/Peri Brennan (UCLA) 23-21, 21-18
3. Kenzie Brower/Jessie Smith (UCLA) def. Ella Larkin/Aubrey O'Gorman (LSU) 21-19, 21-19
4. Jaden Whitmarsh/Tessa Van Winkle (UCLA) def. Skylar Martin/Amber Haynes (LSU) 21-9, 21-11
5. Natalie Myszkowski/Ensley Alden (UCLA) vs. Emily Meyer/Yali Ashush (LSU) 23-25, 11-10, truncated
Order of finish: 4, 2, 1, 3*
Players Mentioned
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