Bet on the blue and gold.
UCLA women’s volleyball (9-2) went three-for-three in Las Vegas against Iowa State (6-5), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2-8) and Hawaiʻi (8-3) at the Lucky Aces Volleyball Invitational this past weekend.
The squad kicked off the weekend with a sweep of the Cyclones, with set scores of 25-20, 25-22 and 25-15. The Bruins recorded a then-season-high hitting percentage of .346 while simultaneously holding their opponent to just .150. In the backline, the Bruins out-dug the Cyclones 44-33 and forced 17 attack errors across the three sets.
The match began with an ace from fifth-year middle blocker Marianna Singletary, followed by a service run from freshman setter Vivian Hickman to give the Bruins a 7-2 lead. The two teams leveled out until junior libero Lola Schumacher took control from the service line, tallying a pair of aces.
“That one-two combo of what Mari can do with her block and what Lola can do behind the block defensively is pretty special,” said coach Matt Werle. “Having some pieces already in place is great.”
Senior outside hitter Maggie Li helped further the Bruin lead with back-to-back-to-back kills and eventually sealed the first set with an ace. Li finished the night with a team-high 12 kills in addition to five digs.
The second set kicked off with the teams trading points until another Schumacher service run helped the Bruins pull ahead. Li once again recorded key consecutive kills, and sophomore outside hitter Eliana Urzua – who recorded 11 kills on a .526 clip, as well as a pair of blocks – continued to bolster the offense.
With junior setter Kate Duffey organizing the offense, UCLA took the third set in dominant fashion with service runs from both Hickman and Schumacher.
And from there, the Bruins continued to pick up speed.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell in straight sets, with the Bruins taking each set by at least nine points. Improving from the day prior, UCLA recorded a new season-high hitting percentage of .378 – including a .522 clip in the second set – while its opponent was held to just .044.
Urzua was once again a powerful force at the net with eight kills on a .438 clip alongside an ace and a block assist. Schumacher furthered her weekend success with 11 digs.
“It is reassuring knowing that Lola was back there, and she would come up to us and say, ‘Hey, I got this,’” said freshman middle blocker Brooke Harwood. “Whenever she was going back to serve, or telling us she’s ready back there, … she trusts our block. Our big thing has been our communication with our blocking defense and our background defense, and we both knew we could trust each other.”
Sophomore opposite hitter Mija Bendziute – assisted by junior setter Ava Sarafa – spearheaded the offense and hit at a .615 rate, recording nine kills, two blocks and an ace. Freshman middle blocker Brooke Harwood also hit at an efficient clip – .667 – adding eight kills and three blocks.
But Hawaiʻi was ready to put up a fight.
The Bruins dropped the first set 25-19 after a late run from the Rainbow Wahine. They quickly recovered to level the score, taking set two 25-22. Singletary, who sealed the frame for the Bruins, finished the night with 11 kills, nine blocks and one service ace.
“She (Singletary) is one of the best middles that I could be on a team with, and she is one of the best middles that I could have as a mentor,” Harwood said. “She has been such an amazing teammate to have in general that I can go to for anything middle-wise or just playing-wise because I trust her to support me and give me perfect advice.”
Schumacher recorded a career-high 29 digs with a pair of aces, while Duffey, who orchestrated the offense, notched a season-high 54 assists and 14 digs throughout the five-set thriller.
The third set went to Hawaiʻi, which remained in control for nearly all of the 25-20 triumph. But Li and Urzua helped push the match to a decisive fifth set, leveling the game at two sets apiece with a 25-17 win in the fourth stanza. Li finished the night with 20 kills, 11 digs and two blocks while Urzua tallied 12 kills, three blocks and an ace.
“My teammates really fired me up, and thinking about playing for them creates a lot of energy for myself, and in return, when I’m really good about my offense, it feeds off my teammates’ energy,” Li said. “So it’s really going back and forth with the energy going on within our team.”
A tense fifth set opened with an early Hawaiʻi lead, but the Westwood squad slowly climbed back into the match to make it 9-8. A sudden burst from the Rainbow Wahine put the Bruins in a do-or-die situation at 14-11. After fighting off three match points with three kills, Li went back-to-back to give UCLA its first match point at 16-15.
Hawaiʻi refused to give up, tying the set before two errors handed the game and the tournament title to UCLA – marking the squad’s best 11-game start to a season since 2021.
“Our preseason helped us prepare both physically and mentally going to the Big Ten.” Li said. “We’re really really excited to see all our opponents. Coming out of non-conference with our confidence and fire, I’m really excited for our team this year.”
Comments are closed.