Bruins crowned as 2011 NCAA Champions – Volleyball news
The winning plan of UCLA Bruins was perfectly executed and they managed to overcome the third-seeded Illinois in the final showdown of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.
The crucial final game brought the two rivals in a head-to-head battle on Saturday, December 17 in Alamodome, San Antonio. The Bruins proved their dominance on the net and earned winning status by posting 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 25-16) on board.
The Fighting Illinois gave UCLA all it could handle but finally succumbed to the Bruins, three sets to one. Rachael Kidder of UCLA and Colleen Ward of Illinois staged thrilling action on the net but it proved to be a failing effort for Ward in the end.
Both teams had pretty much done their homework for the important match. Opening phase of the match was full of mighty serves and powerful strokes. Fighting Illinois broke the ice with first point on a kill by Ward. By the time UCLA scored first point of
the game, Illinois rallied 4-0 run and moved to 5-1. Bruins scored a couple of points and tried to catch up with the opponent.
With good attacks from Kidder, UCLA managed to tie the score at 7-all. From that point onward, it turned into a game of ‘hit and run’. Both teams regularly traded lead and stayed close to each other. The last tie of scores was created at 23-23 before Illini’s
attack error enabled Bruins to secure first set with sets points (25-23).
Success in opening set boosted Bruins confidence and allowed them to pick up an early lead. The combo of Kidder and outside hitter Kelly Reeves played amazingly well and took Bruins to 10-4 lead. The Fighting Illinois produced variety of attack shots but
trailed behind. UCLA led the score all the way to 21-19 and did not allow Illinois to come up.
Nonetheless, an attack error by Kelly gave way to first tie of the second set (22-22). Illinois took full advantage of the opportunity and added quick points to snatch second set with 25-23 on board, while Bruins were simply left in awe.
The tie of game score (1-1) paved way for a heated competition in third set. Both teams played to their full potential and frequently traded lead. Third set featured 8 ties of scores, while suspense was killing the spectators. Eventually, UCLA hit the mark
and achieved set points 26-24.
UCLA continued with success in the fourth set and kept the operations well under hand. They influenced Illinois with strong offense and also restricted them to low score with display of solid defence.
They built a strong lead of 10-4, which dragged Illini under huge pressure. Bruins kept moving on and on with same zeal, whereas Illini could not get out of the blues. They ended up with final score of 16, while Bruins claimed fourth set by scoring set points.
Bruins captured third set 25-16 and declared title win of 2011 NCAA Tournament.
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