Massive Comeback Powers UCLA Women's Volleyball to Win Over UCF, Regional Semifinal Berth

The Bruins were down in the fourth set but staged a comeback to advance in the NCAA tournament.

(Photo Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)

The Bruins were down late, with their season on the line and the scoreboard not in their favor.

They were trailing two sets to one, down 13-8 in the fourth, at risk of getting upset in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

That's when they shot back to life, scoring seven points in a row to take back control of the match and change their fortunes for the better late Saturday night.

No. 13 UCLA women's volleyball (25-5) wound up forcing a fifth set against UCF (27-7), and they rode the momentum of the comeback to run away with things in the decisive frame and advance to the regional semifinals in the process. The Bruins hadn't advanced past the second round since 2017, but they did just that by securing the victory on their own home court Saturday.

UCLA made it to Saturday in the first place by narrowly beating Fairfield in three sets on Friday, and it looked like much of the same when things got rolling against UCF.

The Knights went up 14-10 in the first set when they scored five points in a row, but the Bruins dug themselves out of the hole to even things up not long after. They did end up facing two set points, but redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anna Dodson picked up kills both times to keep the set alive.

But whereas UCLA won all the tight sets against Fairfield, UCF ended up taking the first set Saturday by a score of 27-25.

The Bruins bounced back with a blowout second set victory, going up 17-4 before closing things out 25-13 with a service error by senior libero Zoe Fleck.

UCLA looked like it was going to ride that into winning another set, as it opened the third set with a 16-14 lead. UCF scored five points in a row, though, and ending up burying the Bruins 25-19.

The Knights turned right around and went up 13-8 in the fourth set, looking to close things out early. That's when UCLA flipped a switch, with two aces by graduate outside/opposite hitter Mac May powering the the Bruins to a 7-0 run.

Even though UCF responded by scoring three points in a row to retake the lead, UCLA answered with back-to-back kills by senior outside/opposite hitter élan McCall, then went on to win the set 25-22.

It didn't take long for the Bruins to show out in the do-or-die fifth set, as they held leads of 7-1 and 12-4 before closing things out at 15-7.

UCLA will now match up with No. 4 Wisconsin in the round of 16 in Madison on Dec. 9. The Badgers beat Colgate and Florida Gulf Coast in straight sets to secure their spot in the third round. 

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