Amidst a slate of nationally-ranked opponents, the Bruins proved they were able to hold their own.
No. 3 UCLA beach volleyball (5-1) competed in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu, Hawai’i, cruising early past opponents No. 2 TCU (3-3), No. 11 Arizona State (1-5) and No. 12 Hawaii (0-6). The team faced close 3-2 victories over No. 5 Stanford (3-3) and No. 7 Loyola Marymount (5-1) before falling to No. 1 USC (4-2) in a tight 3-2 loss for its final match Saturday. The Bruins’ 5-1 tournament record placed them first overall and gave them five top-25 victories.
“This first tournament of the year is always competitive,” said coach Jenny Johnson Jordan. “A lot of the top 10 teams are here. It’s a great tournament to test our players and get a feel for where we’re at.”
The team opened the weekend defeating the Horned Frogs four matches to one, with junior Maggie Boyd and freshman Sally Perez sealing the victory against 2024 Paris Olympians Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno. After losing the first set, the duo rebounded and went on to win the following two frames.
For many across the weekend, coming back from adversity proved crucial for their victory.
“We showed a never-give-up attitude, and we were able to come back because of that,” Boyd said.
Against Arizona State, UCLA won four matches to one, with redshirt sophomores Ensley Alden and Kenzie Brower defeating their opponents in three sets, bouncing back from their loss in the TCU match.
“Every single match, we showed up to play Bruin volleyball,” Alden said. “It was a hard-fought weekend where no match was easy, and everyone handled it really well and wanted to win.”
On day two of the tournament, the Bruins improved their record to 4-0 after sweeping Hawaii and earning a tightly-contested victory against Stanford.
In their match against the Cardinal, after losing the first two matches, Alden and Brower tied the game at 2-2 while redshirt freshmen Harper Cooper and senior Sophie Moore brought the win home for the team.
For Alden and Brower, the weekend was a test of resilience, after going to three sets in all six of their matches.
“It was more of a mental game than physical for Kenzie and I,” Alden said. “We both had to stay locked in and focused on every single point, and that carried us through the hard parts.”
On the final day, the team first faced LMU winning three matches to two.
In the afternoon, they faced reigning NCAA champions and top-ranked USC. After trading blows, the dual came down to a winner-take-all match where the Trojans ultimately claimed victory.
The final outcome of the tournament had UCLA and LMU with equal 5-1 records, but based on head-to-head match-ups, the Bruins were crowned champions.
“It really was about the longevity over the three days,” Johnson Jordan said. “We did so many great things this weekend, and that was what put us over the top.”
The Bruins will return home to Mapes Beach next weekend to compete in the Battle of LA.
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