Women’s soccer
Hannah Westerhold, Daily Bruin contributor
Chemistry can be just as valuable as talent for young teams without much collective experience.
That’s proven true for UCLA this season.
“We literally treat each other like a family. We’re like sisters. We fight, we love each other,” said junior midfielder Val Vargas.” “We’re definitely a unique team.”
No. 4 UCLA women’s soccer (6-2-1, 2-0-1 Big Ten) will return to Wallis Annenberg stadium this week for a pair of home matchups against Rutgers (3-1-4, 1-1-1) on Thursday and Maryland (6-4, 2-1) on Sunday. The Bruins have a chance to extend their six-game winning streak with a home crowd and growing team chemistry backing them.
UCLA’s brief time in the Big Ten has already sparked a charged relationship with Rutgers. Then-No. 2 UCLA blanked then-No. 5 seed Rutgers 5-0 in the pair’s initial conference matchup to clinch the Bruins’ first Big Ten Championship victory.
The win not only propelled the Bruins to the NCAA tournament with a guaranteed spot, but served as their 16th shutout of the 2024 season. UCLA’s five-point performance also broke the Big Ten tournament scoring record, surpassing Michigan’s four points that it tallied against Penn State in 1999.
Although UCLA’s 0.833 conference win percentage edges out Rutgers’ 0.5 mark, the pair’s recent matchups show parallels. Rutgers faced Michigan State on Sept. 12, when the team posted a 1-1 draw. UCLA met the same foe less than a week later – and garnered an identical score.
The draw halted the Bruins’ then-four-game winning streak and remains their lone setback since their two-consecutive losses to Tennessee and Brigham Young last month. the Spartans are the only squad to net a goal against them in the Bruins’ past six matches.
UCLA hasn’t faced Maryland since 2014, when the Bruins were riding a wave of success. Armed with a majority of the starters that helped capture the 2013 National Championships, the Bruins secured a 3-0 victory in the Terrapins’ season-opening match.
The squads boast similar offensive production this season – UCLA averages 1.22 goals per match compared to Maryland’s 1.6, and each squad posts 12.1 and 11.7 shots per game, respectively.
But the defensive contrast is stark – while the Terrapins have allowed 13 goals this season, the Bruins have surrendered only three.
“This group has been very committed to our defensive scheme, so I’m really proud of them,” said coach Margueritte Aozasa. “We try to pride ourselves on being one of the more defensively organized and effective teams in the country.”
Maryland carries a two-game conference winning streak after narrowly defeating Indiana on Sept. 18 and Purdue on Sept. 21, achieving a 2-1 result in both games. The Terrappins shut out their first three opponents of the season, including a 5-0 victory against Saint Francis on Aug. 17.
However, UCLA’s home crowd may impact the match, especially since Maryland has struggled on the road and has failed to achieve an away victory in 2025.
On the other hand, the Bruins’ 2025 record is evenly split, securing half of their wins at Wallis Annenberg.
But the Bruins’ locker-room camaraderie could help restore the squad’s winning streak following a shutout win against Michigan on Sept. 21.
“We’re finally getting it all together,” said senior defender Jennie Immethun. “We’re most excited to show the Big Ten who’s in a good running for number one.”
Women’s volleyball
Gabriela Garcia, Assistant Sports editor
Even though a nonconference slate full of ups and downs is behind them, the road ahead for the Bruins doesn’t get any easier.
Closing out a 12-game road stretch to open the season, UCLA women’s volleyball (6-4) will travel to the Covelli Center to face Ohio State (3-5) and commence Big Ten play on Friday, before heading further east to face the reigning national champion No. 15 Penn State (6-4) on Sunday at Rec Hall.
The 2025 campaign brought new expectations for the Bruins, who finished 8-12 in their inaugural Big Ten season – tied for 10th in the conference. The anticipation was largely due to new acquisitions, who have shown that building chemistry takes time.
“It’s a tough thing to expedite that process when you have some new pieces playing with one another, and yet we have to find a way to do it,” said coach Alfee Reft. “There’s just a level of repetition and trust that needs to be built within a lineup that we need to be out there.”
The Bruins have particularly struggled from the service line, racking up 93 errors across 10 matches.
Outside hitters senior Cheridyn Leverette and freshman Eliana Urzua have led the charge at the net with 4.08 and 2.92 points per set, respectively. The pair have accrued 202 combined kills and represent the squad’s top two leading scorers.
This trip marks the team’s furthest travel of the season – they will cover a combined 2,588 miles to reach both matchups.
And the road trip brings novel experiences for UCLA, marking the squad’s first-ever match at the Covelli Center and just its second appearance at Rec Hall – a court that the team has not played on since the 2001 NCAA tournament.
“Both teams have gyms where they’re a little bit smaller, but they’re always packed and the stands are rowdy,” said graduate student middle blocker Phekran Kong. “Being able to feed off of that energy will be pretty cool.”
Covelli Center and Rec Hall contain 10,202 seats combined. Although Pauley Pavilion seats 13,800, Ohio State and Penn State boast larger fan turnouts. The Buckeyes drew 49,252 fans last season, and the Nittany Lions recorded a home attendance of 63,818 throughout the 2024 campaign. UCLA, on the other hand, had just 11,081 fans across all its home matches.
The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions visited Westwood last season, where the Bruins earned a victory against Ohio State and suffered a five-set loss to then-No. 3 Penn State.
Outside hitter Hannah Jones, who joined the Buckeyes in the offseason, has been a force at the net this season. Jones leads the team with 120 kills – 28 more than the second-highest scorer on the team – and has averaged 3.75 kills-per-set.
The Nittany Lions lost a key contributor on Sept. 5, when setter Izzy Starck, the 2024 AVCA Freshman of the Year, announced on Instagram her decision to step away from volleyball to prioritize her mental health. Setter Addie Lyon has since assumed the role.
The Bruins will face right-side hitter and 2024 AVCA First Team All-American Kennedy Martin, who was among the most notable athletes in the transfer portal after leaving Florida. Martin leads the squad with 162 kills and averages 4.76 kills per set.
Despite talented opposition, the Bruins are embracing the challenge that each team poses.
“Every Big Ten team is going to be a competition,” Urzua said. “We’re going to have to be the best that we can be and it’s going to be super fun.”
The Bruins will face the Buckeyes at 3 p.m. Friday, before taking on the Nittany Lions at 9 a.m. Sunday.
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