A gauntlet is a trial by fire where only the strongest emerge unscathed.
No. 2 UCLA beach volleyball (7-2) will face No. 16 Grand Canyon (5-3), No. 18 Washington (6-2), Oregon (5-4) and No. 1 Stanford (9-1) at Mapes Beach in the MPSF Midseason Rumble on Friday and Saturday.
The Bruins entered the season as the nation’s top-ranked team but were challenged early by elite competition at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic, dropping matches against then-No. 2 Stanford and then-No.16 Hawai’i by a single set each.
They followed this up by defending their home court in the Battle for LA, claiming victories in all four matches including wins over then-No. 3 Cal Poly and No. 11 Long Beach State.
“When you open up against strong competition, you’re exposed quickly,” said coach Jenny Johnson Jordan. “It’s a really deep conference, for sure the best conference in the country in terms of beach.”
After falling short against Stanford in the season’s opening tournament, the Bruins are slated for a rematch against the Cardinal. The top-two faceoff may redefine which program is the nation’s best, as both continue to receive first-place votes in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Poll.
Maintaining a confident outlook as the season progresses is a point of emphasis for the Bruins as they continue their early-season campaign. With a team that has added top-end recruits, freshman Jesse Dueck said internal belief and a collective support system have been parts of their preparation.
“We focus on not letting the losses take us down but to motivate us instead,” Dueck said. “We’re all in this together, and we have a huge army of support, so coming in this week we should have confidence in what we’re capable of. Everybody showed what we’re capable of in the games this (last) weekend.”
Weather conditions affected UCLA’s matchup against Stanford, with high winds and cloudy skies causing the cancellation of the squad’s game against California that weekend. Now back on home sand, UCLA will have a chance to avenge its prior defeat in more familiar conditions.
And if anyone is prepared for this high-tier matchup, it may be senior Maggie Boyd, the 2025 MPSF Player of the Year and 2024 AVCA National Collegiate Beach Pairs Champion.
As a senior and team leader, her ideology remains simple.
“I want to lead as much as possible, lead by example, and just have as much fun as I can,” Boyd said. “You play the best when you’re having fun. Having that mindset so far this year has really helped us, and I’m excited to see where it takes us.”
Success at the top of the rankings brings a different kind of pressure. As the program has claimed multiple national championships, opponents approach Sunset Recreational Center with added urgency.
“Everybody wants to beat number one, and everybody wants to beat UCLA,” Jordan said.
With the collision in the sand set, the upcoming matchup may guarantee one thing: By the end of the weekend, either the No. 1 ranking or UCLA’s pursuit of reclaiming it will be left behind.
Comments are closed.