This post was updated Dec. 4 at 7:02 p.m.
No one needs a reminder of how quickly fortunes can shift in the postseason.
The last time the Bruins made it to the NCAA tournament was in 2021, where they fell in the regional semifinals.
And this year, the opening finally widened when they needed it the most.
No. 8 seed UCLA women’s volleyball (19-12, 12-8 Big Ten) took down Georgia Tech (16-14, 11-9 ACC) in a five-set thriller in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday at Historic Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Kentucky.
And the path was far from linear. UCLA’s third set loss – a 25-23 frame with a pair of hitting errors and .407 hitting percentage, which was their best mark of any set – threatened to flatten the momentum it had built after clinching the team’s largest lead of the night in the second frame.
And it was this push-and-pull that defined everything that followed.
Across the first four sets, neither side managed more than a few points of separation at a time. Sideout runs rarely extended beyond one rally, and each time a window opened, the other team would respond quickly.
But inside that back-and-forth, UCLA found its anchor in the middle.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary delivered the most complete performance of the night: 22 kills and 11 blocks off a .556 hitting percentage, leading both teams in scoring and defense.
“These two right here had a tremendous night,” said coach Alfee Reft. “I think Mari went 22-for-10, and Cher (senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette) finished with 17. These two held it down for us.”
In fact, Singletary went 22-for-11 and Leverette finished with 18 kills.
In the back row, sophomore defensive specialist/libero Lola Schumacher paced the match with a game-high 21 digs – her eighth 20-plus dig performance this season, half of which have come in November.
But the Bruins needed more than stability. They needed volume.
And Leverette supplied it. Her 18 kills on 48 swings gave the Bruins an outlet when the ball drifted off the net, also supplying the team with six blocks across the match.
“When you have people that are putting the ball away like that at such a high efficiency, it makes the offense so confusing to block and so balanced,” Leverette said. “When you have so much trust and balance on all areas of the court, it gives you so much confidence to go up in this way.”
Leverette’s eight errors marked the highest total on UCLA’s side, but her late-set efficiency in the fourth and fifth sets held the Bruins level through the tightest frames.
The fourth set proved a turning point for both teams. Across the majority of the match, neither side had taken a lead greater than two points.
But it was Singletary, Leverette and sophomore setter Kate Duffey combining for a trio of blocks that finally created daylight after stopping the Yellow Jackets’ attack.
The Bruins closed the set on a 9-2 surge, forcing a fifth frame that mirrored the match’s earlier tension.
The final stanza opened point-for-point, with the Yellow Jackets trimming the Bruins’ lead back to two points anytime they started to edge ahead, prompting a timeout from the blue and gold.
Out of the break, UCLA’s block again controlled the run-in. Singletary posted her 11th block to bring up match point, and on the next rally, she closed the night with her 22nd kill.
“This is what we train for. In those tight moments is when it shows up,” Singletary said. “Feeling confident in each other, we are really big on resetting the play regardless of what happens. If we win, if we lose, no matter what we flush it, next play, we are all in and repeat that same process.”
And for the first time in four years, the Bruins will see the second round of the NCAA tournament.
UCLA will face No. 2 overall seed Kentucky tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Wildcats had a near-perfect season record of 25-2 and earned themselves the SEC championship title in November.
“It is a fast turnaround. We’ll take a look at the match tonight, … and we’ll watch a lot Wofford,” Reft said. “I think we have a good feel for Kentucky. I think everyone does. They are a great serving team, and you obviously have to be really good against the two very good outside hitters.”
