Dec. 9, 2011

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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 9 seed UCLA Bruins used a dominating effort from begging to end to claim a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-21) win over four-time defending National Champion and No. 8 seed Penn State at the NCAA Volleyball Lexington Regional on Friday at Memorial Coliseum.

The win advances the Bruins to the regional finals against the winner of Kentucky and No. 1 seed Texas on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET inside Memorial Coliseum. UCLA is now 8-4 all-time against Penn State, including a 5-1 mark in NCAA Tournament play.

The Bruins were led in the match by junior outside hitter Rachael Kidder and sophomore outside hitter Kelly Reeves, who posted 15 and 11 kills, respectively. Senior libero/defensive specialist Lainey Gera led the Bruins in digs with 15, while Reeves was second on the team with 11. Senior setter Lauren Van Orden paced the team in assists with a match high 46.

The Nittany Lions had three players earn double-figure kills, including a team-high 12 from freshman outside hitter Aiyana Whitney. Freshman setter Micha Hancock had a team high 38 assists.

UCLA is 27-6 on the year, while the Nittany Lions end the season at 25-8.