The seventh seed USC advanced to the Hawaii Regional Semifinal as they defeated Yale and Tulsa over this weekend’s NCAA Tournament first and second rounds. It was a reunion for USC’s Natalie Hagglund and Katie Fuller, and Yale’s Kendall Polan and Maddie Rudnick as the four are Wave Alumni. Junior outside hitter for USC, Fuller, had seven kills while hitting .500 and tied her career high of four service aces while Sophomore libero, Hagglund, had 13 digs. Sophomore setter, Polan earned 19 assists and nine digs for the Yale Bulldogs while freshman defensive specialist, Rudnick posted nine digs.

The Trojans then defeated Tulsa in three sets to earn them a spot in the Sweet 16. Hagglund led the team with 17 digs and is now tied for fifth place on the USC’s single-season list for digs with 508 total. Fuller had 10 kills and six digs with a hitting percentage of .400 on the night.

USC will meet up with the No. 10-seed Hawaii on Friday, December 9 in Honolulu, Hawaii at 9pm PT.
 

The ninth seed UCLA also defeated Maryland Eastern Shore and San Diego to earn them a bid to the Kentucky Regional Semifinal. The Bruins beat Maryland Eastern Shore in three sets 25-12, 25-12, 25-9, and San Diego in four sets 25-16, 25-15, 22-25, 25-17. Kelly Reeves had four kills, five digs and three blocks vs. Maryland Eastern Shore and seven kills and nine digs against San Diego. Don’t forget to catch the Reeves Report each week on UCLABruins.com where Kelly Reeves discusses practice, the competition, and the daily life of a student-athlete.

The Bruins will see No. 8-seed Penn State on Friday, Dec. 9 in Lexington, Kentucky at 2 pm PT.