UCLA women’s volleyball will advance to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament after sweeping four-time defending national champions Penn State. The Bruins ended a 26-match win streak by the Nittany Lions with their win, and will advance to face the overall No. 1 seed Texas Longhorns in the next round.

The dynamic due of junior outside hitter Rachael Kidder and sophomore outside hitter Kelly Reeves led UCLA yet again. Kidder had a match-high 15 kills, and Reeves added 11 kills and 11 digs for the Bruins. Penn State flirted with multiple three-point leads in the first set, but UCLA hung around and capitalized on its opponent’s errors, rallying to win the first set 25-20.

UCLA’s play was reminiscent of its play against USC early in the season. The Bruins were fundamentally sound and committed few errors on both offense and defense. Reeves had only two attack errors on 19 swings for a hitting percentage of .474, and UCLA hit .310 for the match. Kidder had six kills and no errors in the first set, setting the tone for the remainder of the match.

The momentum carried over into the second set, where the Bruins never trailed the Nittany Lions. Penn State made runs but was unable to even the score against UCLA, losing the second 25-22. The Bruins got a sizeable contribution from junior outside hitter Tabi Love, who finished the match with seven kills. The play of UCLA’s reserves was the difference-maker; the Bruins’ bench contributed at all the right times and helped support Kidder and Reeves.

It looked as if Penn State would respond with its back against the wall, and indeed it did. The Nittany Lions scored the first point of the third set, but the Bruins responded a little louder, with an eight-point run that saw two Lion attack errors. Penn State’s last rally got it within two points at 14-12, but that was as close as the defending champions got to staying alive against UCLA. Kidder had seven kills in the final set and ended the game on an emphatic kill that got an equally emotional response from the rest of the team. Penn State ends its season 25-8.

Compiled by Eric Peck, Bruin sports senior staff.