No. 5 Penn State advanced to finals of the Louisville regional on Friday night with a straight set victory over No. 12 UCLA (28-26, 25-16, 25-19).

The Nittany Lions fought the Bruins in a contested first set but broke open the match in the following frames.

Redshirt junior Aiyana Whitney had a fine hitting performance, tallying 13 kills with just one error. Freshman Haleigh Washington contributed 12 kills, as well as, five blocks on the night.

UCLA’s senior outside hitter Karsta Lowe performed the brunt work for the Bruins pounding out 22 kills on 48 attempts. However, the balanced attack of Penn State outpaced UCLA with its quick scoring from multiple outlets.

“First I’d like to recognize and commend UCLA on a great season and a great match tonight,” coach Russ Rose said. “I thought that Karsta hit some balls that we had forgot about since we saw her earlier in the year that reminded us of her special talent.”

The Lions opened up an early 10-5 lead in the first set, but after UCLA closed the gap, it was back-and-forth for the remainder of the set. Penn State look poised to take the first set with the score 24-22, but a Lowe kill and Whitney’s lone error tied the match up at 24. The next four points were split 2-2 and then Washington and senior Grant each added a kill to win the first set 28-26.

Penn State carried its momentum from the first set straight into the second. It took a 5-3 lead early on before putting its foot on the pedal and running away with the set leading by as many as 10 before winning 25-16 due to solid hitting performances and work on the block.

“I thought we had a really nice game plan, the staff did a good job of putting it together and the players did a real nice job executing,” Rose said.

The final set started slowly as both teams jostled for position, but a 4-0 run from the Lions put them ahead and they never looked back before closing out the match 25-19.

With the victory, the Lions will take on No. 4 Wisconsin in a rematch of the 2013 National Championship game. Wisconsin won the Big Ten Title, but played Penn State only once this season in a match where the Lions swept the Badgers on their home floor.

“I definitely foresee this being a championship‐like match,” senior Micha Hancock said. “They’re a great team and I can’t wait to play them. It’s going to be an exciting match, we know each other well.”

The match is set to begin at 4 p.m. and will air on ESPNU.