The Bruins celebrate Thursday night after sweeping the Seminoles 3-0 to advance to the 2011 NCAA title game on Saturday.
Rachael Kidder’s shot split two Seminole defenders and bounced for a point without being contacted by a single Florida State player. The defenders looked at the ball as it went past them, and looked at each other, exasperated.
It didn’t come as easily as a single point, but the path to the championship opened up for the Bruins on Thursday night as they swept the Seminoles, the penultimate opponent standing between them and an NCAA title.
The gap in the Seminole defense mirrored the widening road to the national championship game, something the Bruins have been traveling toward all season. The Bruins were last in the championship game in 1994.
Reaching the national championship has been the team’s primary goal this season, and that will be realized on Saturday when it faces Illinois, which beat USC in five sets.
Coach of the Year Michael Sealy’s Bruins came out strong in the first set, grabbing an early lead and dictating the tempo of the game. Set scores were 25-16, 25-17, 25-21.
UCLA went to junior outside hitter Kidder early and often with great results. Kidder led the team with 21 kills and 12 digs and hit .462 on the match.
Senior setter Lauren Van Orden set Kidder up all night long, distributing the ball around just enough to keep the Florida State defense honest while making sure Kidder and sophomore outside hitter Kelly Reeves got the swings they needed.
“Lauren was great tonight. I think she did a good job mixing up the offense,” Kidder said. “I think it’s hard to know when you’re on the other side of the net where she’s going to go, and she just played with a lot of confidence.”
Van Orden had 43 assists on the night and added four kills. The senior put on a clinic running UCLA’s offense, reading Florida State’s defense and adjusting her passes to hit the open hitter.
“We didn’t set a ton of middle, but I thought (Lauren) set what was open. “¦ I thought their middle stayed with our middle a lot so we could get Rachael one-on-one outside and create some good opportunities on the pins,” Sealy said.
Junior Tabi Love was another crucial component for the Bruins coming off the bench. She spelled Kidder at outside hitter numerous times and punished the Seminole blockers, hitting off the block and through it. Love added 12 kills and was a key part of UCLA’s block defense as well.
“We weren’t just setting to one person. Lauren ran a really fast offense, and she got everyone involved really well,” Reeves added.
UCLA also won the service battle and edged out its opponents at the net, both factors in its victory.
According to Sealy, the team had some issues preventing the quick attacks from Florida State’s middle blockers, but Sealy was pleased with the team’s performance as a whole.
“Serving was good. We hit targets well; I think we can hit seams well. But five aces, four errors is a great percentage,” Sealy said.