The UCLA women’s volleyball team made it interesting, but ultimately couldn’t make it to the third round of the NCAA tournament.
The Bruins lost 3-1 to the No. 9-seed Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas on Saturday in a second-round match. UCLA finishes its season with a 22-9 record after its 23-25, 25-20, 18-25, 24-26 loss.
Neither team could build a lead early in the first set, but Texas looked to pull away with a four-point lead at 21-17. UCLA forced a 21-21 tie, but the Longhorns took the opening set after Bruin sophomore opposite Rachael Kidder committed an attack error.
Bruin outside hitters looked dominant in the team’s second-set win. Senior Dicey McGraw had seven kills and Kidder added another seven to lead UCLA to a 25-20 win in which it led almost the whole set.
Things looked promising for the Bruins as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third, but the Longhorns came back with their own run, taking the lead at 8-7. They led the rest of the set and won easily, 25-18.
Coming off of a five-set win over American University in its first round match Friday, UCLA looked to force another five-setter.
The Bruins didn’t let the Longhorns get too comfortable, and a McGraw kill gave UCLA a 21-20 lead. Texas tied and had match point at 24-23, but McGraw once again kept her team in it with another kill. From there, two straight kills gave the Longhorns the match.
Senior outside hitter Juliann Faucette led the Longhorns with 17 kills, and the team finished with a .325 hitting clip. Kidder hit 22 kills to lead the Bruins, who hit .260. McGraw was second with 18 kills in her last match as a Bruin.