Regional final
Gophers vs. UCLA
9 p.m., Sports Pavilion
TV: ESPNU
Live stats: gophersports.com
Preview: After winning 13 matches in a row, the Gophers (28-4) will play Saturday for a place in the Final Four, which will be held next Thursday and Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. They advanced to the national semifinals last year and were defeated by Texas. Saturday's match will be the last at the Sports Pavilion this season; the Gophers are 16-0 at home this year. … No. 8 UCLA (27-6) defeated North Carolina 3-1 on Friday to reach the regional final after losing in the regional semifinals in each of the past two years. The Bruins have won 15 of their past 17 matches and tied for second in the Pac-12 with a 15-5 record. Junior Reily Buechler leads the team in kills with 415 and had 19 in Friday's victory.
Numbers: The Gophers have dropped only one set in their first three matches of the NCAA tournament. … Senior Sarah Wilhite has 46 kills in the tournament and is averaging 4.6 per set.
Rachel Blount
