NCAA Tournament: UCLA 3, Georgia Tech 2
Marianna Singletary had a career-high 22 kills and hit .556 as UCLA rallied to beat Georgia Tech 3-2 (24-26, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10) on Thursday night inside Historic Memorial Coliseum.
UCLA lost the first set, tied it in set two, then lost set three before rallying to take the final two sets to win.
Cheridyn Leverette had 18 kills for the Bruins, while Maggie Li added 12. Kate Duffey had 54 assists for UCLA and Lola Schumacher had 21 digs.
Georgia Tech got 18 kills from freshman Noemi Despaigne and 14 from Mimi Mambu. Heloise Soares had 52 assists for the Yellowjackets, while Sofia Velez had 17 digs.
In set one, Georgia Tech jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead. However, UCLA rallied, winning seven of nine points to take a 21-18 lead. The Yellowjackets scored the next three points to tie the set, but UCLA would have set point at 24-23. That’s when Georgia Tech won three points in a row to claim set one, 26-24.
UCLA stormed out of the gate in set two, opening a quick 7-2 lead and forcing a Georgia Tech timeout. The Bruins would lead by as many as nine points (20-11) in the set and would tie the match with a 25-19 set victory.
In set three, UCLA again stormed out to a lead, this time 8-2. Georgia Tech would chip away at the deficit and would get it to three points, 13-10. That’s when the Yellowjackets went on a 7-0 run to lead 17-13. The Bruins would rally, getting within one twice, including at 24-23. But Georgia Tech’s Lameen Mambu came through with a kill to end the set, 25-23 and the Yellowjackets led 2-1.
The fourth set was very tight early, with 14 ties between the teams. The set was tied 16-16 when UCLA scored five in a row to take command of the frame. The Bruins would win the set 25-18, forcing a fifth set.
The final stanza, too, was close early. UCLA led 6-5 before going on a 4-1 run to lead 10-6. Georgia Tech would score the next two points, but could get no closer.
UCLA advances to Friday’s second round match, where the Bruins will face either homestanding Kentucky or Wofford. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on SEC Network Plus.
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA Head Coach Alfee Reft
On the win…
“That is what you expect out of the NCAA Tournament, right? First round, five sets. Our team sure likes to go five sets. I thought it was a great played match by both teams. I thought there was a lot of ebb-and-flow to it and it was about who was playing hot at the right moments. These two right here had a tremendous night. I think Mari went 22-for-10 and Cher finished with 17. These two held it down for us. Proud of our team. It’s a fun win for us and we’re excited to keep going in this tournament.”
On how he will scout for their next game…
“It is a fast turnaround. We’ll take a look at the match tonight, but I think we have a, you know, we’ll watch a lot Wofford. I think we have a good feel for Kentucky. I think everyone does. They are a great serving team and you obviously have to be really good against the two very good outside hitters. It is a fun matchup, certainly. We will take a look at them tonight and see what they look like live. Probably spend a lot of hours tonight staying up and watching a lot of film.”
On traveling to the east coast and how they adjust…
“We want residency on the east coast. We’re like, we’ve been over here so much. We were just here in Michigan a week ago. I think our team is well traveled in terms of the time change and how to adapt quickly. As challenging as that can be in the year, it certainly pays off at the end of the year when we have to ship ourselves out here and play around like this. So I thought our team looked incredibly comfortable coming into this with the entire process.”
#9 Cheridyn Leverrete, OH
On game play during the game…
“I think when you have people that are putting the ball away like that at such a high efficiency, it just makes the offense so confusing to block and just so balanced. When you have so much trust and balance on all areas of the court it gives you so much confidence to go up in this way. So much credit to the girls around me.”
#11 Marianna Singletary, MB
On her career night…
“I think that our side was literally unstoppable, especially on game point. They never made an adjustment. They were so worried about this girl, (Marianna Singletary), banging it, that I was one on, and Duffy was really moving the ball so I just felt really confident taking big rips at them.”
On what’s going through their head to keep the motivation going…
“I think our record speaks for itself. This is what we train for. I think in those tight moments is when it shows up. Just feeling confident in each other, we are really big on resetting the play regardless of what happens. If we win, if we lose, no matter what we flush it, next play, we are all in and repeat that same process.”
Georgia Tech Head Coach Michelle Collier
On serving and making adjustments …
“UCLA made significant adjustments to our blocking in the first set by using the slide more, which gave us trouble. It was a back-and-forth game of adjustments, but at the end of the day, they were just a better team.”
On navigating a young team …
“Obviously, with a lot of new players, there was some inconsistency in learning how people play, but we did our best to keep going, which helped us continue to grow as a program.”
#12 Lameen Mambu, OH
On Singletary having a career high in kills…
“I wouldn’t say it was a surprise. We worked really hard trying to get on her, but she was just doing really great, and we try to work around it.”
On leading the team as a freshman…
“I think our team was really helpful in that aspect. They just kind of were always supporting me, same with our coaches. Like everyone when I was down was always trying to pick me up. Especially in this game, it really helped me start swinging a lot harder compared to my first set to the last set. I feel like they were a huge help.”
#1 DeAndra Pierce, MB
On what was working for her…
“Yeah, I think I was connecting really well with my setter and just like hitting, and I just wanted to go out there and play aggressive. Obviously, this was my last collegiate match. I just wanted to go up there and just do the best I can.”
On freshmen leading the team…
“Yeah, I’m super proud of Meme. I think she’s grown a lot this season, and I know she has a lot of potential. I know like her role was really hard, playing outside and being a freshman, but I think she stepped up to that role, and she did great.”
