UCLA beach volleyball drops into losers’ bracket at NCAA tournament

A 3-1 loss to No. 3 Pepperdine knocked second-seeded UCLA into the losers’ bracket at the NCAA tournament on Friday in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The Bruins, who defeated No. 7 seed LSU 3-0 in the first round, will face No. 4 Florida State on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament. The match will be live streamed on NCAA.com.

UCLA (30-5) lost three of the five first sets against Pepperdine and got its only point in the dual match from Megan and Nicole McNamara, who won 21-16, 21-16 on court No. 1.

“Our team has remained confident all year long and we have time to regroup and prepare for tomorrow,” UCLA head coach Stein Metzger told reporters after the loss. “I’m sure FSU will come out with fire and it will be a good matchup. However, I’m more than confident in my team and their abilities and look forward to competing tomorrow.”

LSU and Hawai’i are in the other contenders’ bracket match, while No. 1 USC will face Pepperdine in the winners’ bracket final to advance to the championship match.