NCAA volleyball: USC, UCLA and Washington advance
Day two of the NCAA women's volleyball tournament was bursting at the seams with Pac-12 action. Five Pac-12 teams continued their chase for a national championship in games all across the country and three kept the dream alive with huge wins.
USC punched its ticket to the regional semifinal with a 3-0 win over San Diego Friday at home in Los Angeles. The top-seeded Trojans controlled each set at home in the Galen Center and put things away with dominating 25-13 win in the third. USC was fueled by a huge performance by All-American Samantha Bricio who finished with 21 kills and will take on the winner of Saturday's game between North Carolina and Creighton in the third round.
The Women of Troy improve to 32-2 and will advance to the San Diego #NCAAVB regional semifinal! #FightOn #vbscores #NCAAVB
— USC W. Volleyball (@uscwomensvolley) December 5, 2015
UCLA advanced with a 3-0 win over Lipscomb Friday in Los Angeles. The Bruins opened with an impressive 25-10 win in the first set and followed it up with a 25-22 win in the second and a 25-15 win in the third. The Bruins move onto the second round where they will take on Michigan Saturday at home in the John Wooden Center.
BRUINS WIN!!! UCLA sweeps Lipscomb, 25-10, 25-22, 25-15, to advance to the second round vs. Michigan tmrw at 7 pm pic.twitter.com/sE6tElL4AU
— UCLA Women's VB (@UCLAWomensVB) December 5, 2015
Washington opened up their NCAA Tournament run in spectacular fashion as they swept Denver 3-0 Friday in Seattle. The fifth-seeded Huskies took the first and third sets 25-12 and were nearly as dominant in a 25-14 win in the second. The Huskies advance to the second round where they will take on Michigan State Saturday.
Stanford took the first and third sets down to the wire, but ultimately fell to Loyola Marymount 3-0 Friday in Palo Alto, Calif. The Cardinal had the home crowd behind them, but couldn't overcome the Lions and saw their season come to an end with a 23-7 record.
Arizona was unable to extend their postseason run as they lost to Western Kentucky 3-0 Friday in Provo, Utah. The Wildcats came out strong in the first set, but playing without All-Pac-12 selection Kalie Mau and junior Mckenna Painton due to injuries, struggled the rest of the way and dropped the set 25-22 before falling by larger margins in the second and third sets.