This post was updated April 25 at 9:35 p.m.
Despite the possibility of history repeating itself, the Bruins hope to continue their momentum into the postseason no matter the outcome or opponent.
No. 1 seed UCLA beach volleyball (32-2) will travel north to compete in the Pac-12 championship at Stanford. Nine out of the 12 conference teams will face off for a crown from Wednesday to Friday. After securing the top seed for the tournament, UCLA will face the winner of the matchup between No. 8 seeded Utah and No. 9 seeded Oregon on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.
Going into the tournament, there is one reoccurring theme expected from the Bruins.
The continuation of the crosstown rivalry.
In all six years of the Pac-12 championship history, USC and UCLA have played each other in the title match.
While the Trojans clinched the title last year, the Bruins snagged the honor in 2021 and 2018.
“We know that they’re (USC) going to take a look at their game, and we got to make sure that we do too because they’ll make adjustments,” said coach Stein Metzger. “It’s always a battle with them.”
So far this season, the blue and gold holds a record of 2-1 against USC. Although the Trojans handed the squad their first loss of the season, the Bruins responded in their two subsequent duals to settle the score.
Most recently, UCLA ended its season with a triumph over top-five opponents USC and LMU.
Graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh, alongside her partner senior Devon Newberry, won the final set against the Lions. Thursday’s two victories were key in the team’s mentality going forward, according to Whitmarsh.
“Our biggest thing right now is staying on an upward trajectory and just coming together at the most crucial part of the season,” Whitmarsh said. “Those wins definitely help our confidence and help what we are trying to do in the postseason.”
Whitmarsh, along with graduate student Marlie Monserez, were among the six graduate students honored on Senior Day last Thursday.
Monserez emphasized the squad’s focus on camaraderie and blocking out external factors.
“We’ve built a culture of playing for each other and playing free and playing without expectation because anything can happen,” Monserez said.
In preparation for the upcoming championships, the team will look to fix the details on a pair-to-pair basis, according to Metzger.
“Each pair, it’s something different that they got to work on. At this point, it’s fine-tuning,” Metzger said. “It’s been transition setting – being able to score when we get an opportunity, winning the serve-pass battle, and not losing side-out points in bunches more than one or two at a time.”
The Bruins’ most recent history with their potential opponents on Wednesday include two clean sweeps: UCLA defeated both Oregon and Utah by a score of 5-0 in the Pac-12 South Invitational.
The Pac-12 championship also brings a host of other opportunities to spar with ranked teams. Besides USC, four of the Pac-12 teams playing in the championship are in the NCAA top 25 rankings: No. 9 California, No. 10 Stanford, No. 13 Washington and No. 19 Arizona.
The Bruins hold a winning record against each of the teams this season, most recently in their sweep of the Pac-12 North Tournament in early April when they defeated the Golden Bears, the Cardinal, the Huskies and the Wildcats.
However, the Bruins are not letting their top ranking and dominant records distract from their focus.
“At the end of the day, rankings don’t matter,” Monserez said.
The winner of the Pac-12 title will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 5. The Bruins haven’t missed the tournament since its introduction in 2016.
But first, the conference crown awaits to be determined.
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