NCAA TOURNAMENT ROUND OF 16 – GAINESVILLE REGION
- UCLA at Florida
- O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
- Florida improves to 28-1 and advances to Elite Eight; UCLA finishes at 21-11
- Tournament Central
- Bracket
#2 FLORIDA DEF #15 UCLA 3:1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-17)
- Box Score
- Attendance: 3128
After dropping the first set against a scrappy #15 seed UCLA Bruins squad, the second-ranked Florida Gators dominated the next three sets to book a spot in the regional final in Gainesville. Set scores were 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, and 25-17. Carli Snyder filled out the stat sheet with 18 kills, 15 digs, and three aces while Rhamat Alhassan posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 blocks.
Cheyenne Huskey and Allie Monserez combined for 41 assists and set the Gators to a .282 hitting percentage. Florida blocked 14 balls, compared to just five for UCLA, to go along with 77 digs as they held the Bruins to miniscule .124 hitting efficiency. The huge blocking and hitting percentage advantage was the difference for the Gators as the rest of the box score was almost even across the board.
Senior outside hitter Reily Buechler lead the Bruins with 14 kills (six in the first set) and 13 digs. Kyra Rogers chipped in 10 kills including the swing to end the first set. Senior setter Sarah Sponcil handed out 42 assists to go along with 13 digs. Zana Muno led the Bruins’ defense with 20 digs.
The loss ended a strong postseason for UCLA who earlier in the tournament defeated Austin Peay and Cal Poly. The Bruins advanced to their fourth straight Sweet 16, but will need to replace Buechler and Sponcil who will be lost to graduation.
Florida advances to the Elite Eight to face USC who swept away Minnesota in the other half of the bracket.
Leave a Reply