No. 19 UCLA Outlasts Long Beach State in Season Opener
LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 19 UCLA women’s volleyball opened the 2025 season in dramatic fashion, outlasting Long Beach State in a five-set thriller Monday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Set scores were 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 21-25, 15-8.
UCLA has now opened the season with a win for the second straight season and become winners of eight of its last 11 season-openers. Monday’s five-set battle also marked the Bruins’ first win in a five-set match since defeating Georgia Tech in the 2024 season opener, snapping a five-match losing streak in extended contests.
Six Bruins made their UCLA debuts. Transfers Maggie Li, Marianna Singletary, Lola Schumacher, and Zayna Meyer made their UCLA debuts in Blue and Gold, while freshmen Sakura Codling and Eliana Urzua saw their first collegiate action.
Zayna Meyer delivered a standout performance off the bench, orchestrating the offense with 38 assists despite not starting at setter. The Wheaton, Ill. native made the most of her return to her former home gym, coming just one dig shy of a double-double. She also added two kills and contributed at the net with four key blocks, capping off an impressive night in her UCLA debut.
Cheridyn Leverette and Li tallied 18 kills each to lead all players on Monday night. Leverette went for her sixth career double-double, snuffing out 10 digs on the defensive end.
Li led the Bruins in points with 19, sending back a pair of blocks in addition to her outstanding attacking display.
Singletary was dominant in her first UCLA start, knocking down 12 kills and nine blocks while posting an efficient .423 hitting percentage. Schumacher racked up 17 digs at the libero position to lead all players.
Brooklyn Briscoe chipped in with nine kills at a team-best .467 kill and contributed three blocks defensively.
UCLA was bright to start the contest when Singletary connected on her first swing in a UCLA uniform before Briscoe collected two early kills. However, a 5-0 run allowed the hosts to take the momentum into the latter stages of the set. Long Beach State hit .458 as a team in the first set to down the Bruins, 25-18.
The Bruins immediately responded when Singletary ignited the momentum shift, delivering a kill and a block on consecutive plays to push UCLA ahead 9-7. Long Beach State countered with a surge of its own, claiming seven of the next nine points to build a three-point cushion. Maggie Li then caught fire, fueling a dominant stretch in which the Bruins captured eight of nine points to close out the set with a commanding 25-18 win.
UCLA held the Beach to a hitting percentage of .000 in the second set.
Two quick Leverette kills sparked a 4-0 UCLA run to start the third set, forcing a Long Beach State timeout. Li continued to grow into the game, slamming down six kills in the set to become the first Bruin to ascend into double-digits. Long Beach came from behind to knot things up at 20-20, but the firepower of Singletary propelled UCLA to the 25-23 win when she delivered three kills for the team’s final three points of the frame.
Long Beach State continued to battle behind the attacking efforts of Logan King and Anabel Kotzakov in the fourth set. The duo, which combined for 34 total kills (17 each), lifted the Beach to a 25-21 set victory to send the match to a decisive fifth frame.
It was all UCLA in the last set when Li and Leverette combined for five kills to make it an 8-2 advantage when the teams switched sides. Briscoe got in on the action, knocking down a couple kills down the stretch. Li capped her excellent night with the match-winning kill, handing the Bruins their first win of the 2025 season.
UCLA will travel to Malibu, Calif. tomorrow evening to take on Pepperdine inside Firestone Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. (PT).
Set scores were 18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 21-25, 15-8.
UCLA has now opened the season with a win for the second straight season and become winners of eight of its last 11 season-openers. Monday’s five-set battle also marked the Bruins’ first win in a five-set match since defeating Georgia Tech in the 2024 season opener, snapping a five-match losing streak in extended contests.
Six Bruins made their UCLA debuts. Transfers Maggie Li, Marianna Singletary, Lola Schumacher, and Zayna Meyer made their UCLA debuts in Blue and Gold, while freshmen Sakura Codling and Eliana Urzua saw their first collegiate action.
Zayna Meyer delivered a standout performance off the bench, orchestrating the offense with 38 assists despite not starting at setter. The Wheaton, Ill. native made the most of her return to her former home gym, coming just one dig shy of a double-double. She also added two kills and contributed at the net with four key blocks, capping off an impressive night in her UCLA debut.
Cheridyn Leverette and Li tallied 18 kills each to lead all players on Monday night. Leverette went for her sixth career double-double, snuffing out 10 digs on the defensive end.
Li led the Bruins in points with 19, sending back a pair of blocks in addition to her outstanding attacking display.
Singletary was dominant in her first UCLA start, knocking down 12 kills and nine blocks while posting an efficient .423 hitting percentage. Schumacher racked up 17 digs at the libero position to lead all players.
Brooklyn Briscoe chipped in with nine kills at a team-best .467 kill and contributed three blocks defensively.
UCLA was bright to start the contest when Singletary connected on her first swing in a UCLA uniform before Briscoe collected two early kills. However, a 5-0 run allowed the hosts to take the momentum into the latter stages of the set. Long Beach State hit .458 as a team in the first set to down the Bruins, 25-18.
The Bruins immediately responded when Singletary ignited the momentum shift, delivering a kill and a block on consecutive plays to push UCLA ahead 9-7. Long Beach State countered with a surge of its own, claiming seven of the next nine points to build a three-point cushion. Maggie Li then caught fire, fueling a dominant stretch in which the Bruins captured eight of nine points to close out the set with a commanding 25-18 win.
UCLA held the Beach to a hitting percentage of .000 in the second set.
Two quick Leverette kills sparked a 4-0 UCLA run to start the third set, forcing a Long Beach State timeout. Li continued to grow into the game, slamming down six kills in the set to become the first Bruin to ascend into double-digits. Long Beach came from behind to knot things up at 20-20, but the firepower of Singletary propelled UCLA to the 25-23 win when she delivered three kills for the team’s final three points of the frame.
Long Beach State continued to battle behind the attacking efforts of Logan King and Anabel Kotzakov in the fourth set. The duo, which combined for 34 total kills (17 each), lifted the Beach to a 25-21 set victory to send the match to a decisive fifth frame.
It was all UCLA in the last set when Li and Leverette combined for five kills to make it an 8-2 advantage when the teams switched sides. Briscoe got in on the action, knocking down a couple kills down the stretch. Li capped her excellent night with the match-winning kill, handing the Bruins their first win of the 2025 season.
UCLA will travel to Malibu, Calif. tomorrow evening to take on Pepperdine inside Firestone Fieldhouse at 6 p.m. (PT).
