This post was updated April 10 at 8:17 p.m.
Rankings don’t hand out trophies, but redemption just might.
After falling to No. 4 Loyola Marymount (26-4) in the Best in the West tournament last weekend, No. 2 UCLA beach volleyball (24-4) will rematch LMU Friday afternoon in its first affair of the Center of Effort Challenge at the Swanson Beach Complex in San Luis Obispo, California. After its rematch, UCLA will face No. 12 Arizona State (17-9) Friday evening and No. 1 TCU (19-3) Saturday afternoon.
Graduate student Peri Brennan said windy conditions restricted much of the Bruins’ strategy in their 3-2 defeat to the Lions. Regardless, Brennan – who secured one of UCLA’s wins with senior partner Natalie Myszkowski – plans on using the team’s recent exposure to LMU to its advantage.
“We’ve all watched the film by ourselves, and we’re ready to take another crack at it,” Brennan said. “We’re definitely excited to play them for a second time, and we’re all coming in with a lot of confidence.”
Coach Jenny Johnson Jordan added that she purposely assembled a slate of highly ranked opponents for the Bruins to face in the latter half of the season in order to prepare for postseason.
“We purposely have probably one of the toughest schedules in the country because we want to be tested on a continual basis,“ Jordan said. “It gave us an opportunity to try some different things, plug some people into the lineup and still have really competitive matches.”
After the rematch with the Lions, the Bruins have the opportunity to set the record straight against the top-ranked Horned Frogs. Both teams have split their victories this season with UCLA reigning victorious at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic but falling to TCU in the Death Volley Invitational.
“It’s a really good opportunity to play against a whole bunch of different playing styles and practice a whole bunch of different things that we’ve been working on depending on the team that we’re playing,” said senior Jessie Smith.
The Center of Effort Challenge also marks the final time UCLA will hit the road before Senior Day, which is set for next week.
“We still have a lot of work ahead of us with postseason right around the corner and goals we’re determined to chase down together,” Brennan said. “We’re taking every opportunity we can and using it to our advantage.”
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