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LOS ANGELES -- The UCLA Bruins are ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Preseason Poll, earning 27 of the 30 first-place votes. In January, the Bruins also got the nod for No. 1 by DiG Magazine's preseason beach volleyball poll (unanimous vote).
The Bruins return nine of 10 starters on the five courts, losing only Elise Zappia to graduation last year.
Then top-seeded UCLA made history on May 6, 2018, winning the first NCAA Championship in program history. UCLA defeated fourth-seeded Florida State, 3-1, avenging an earlier loss to the Seminoles that put the Bruins in the elimination bracket. They proceeded to win four matches in two days, which gave UCLA its 116th overall NCAA Championship.
The Bruins won 35 of their final 36 matches to complete their historic season with a 40-4 overall record. The 40 wins represent a single-season NCAA record, previously set by USC during the 2017 season (38). The win marked UCLA's first over Florida State in an NCAA Championship setting, with the Bruins having been eliminated by the Seminoles in 2016 and 2017.
Stein Metzger was named the USMC/AVCA National Coach of the Year for the second straight season while Megan McNamara and Nicole McNamara were named AVCA All-Americans for the third-consecutive season. Lily Justine and Sarah Sponcil picked up honorable mention All-America acclaim from court two.
UCLA also had a stellar recruiting class that includes four of the eight First Team AVCA High School Beach All-Americans. The four UCLA Bruins named to the first team includes Abby Van Winkle (San Clemente, Calif./Santa Margarita Catholic HS), Lindsey Sparks (Huntington Beach, Calif./Edison HS), Piper Monk-Heidrich (Manhattan Beach, Calif./Mira Costa HS) and Jaden Whitmarsh (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif./Torrey Pines HS). This is the first year expanding to two teams of eight for a total of 16 All-Americans honored. That class was later bolstered by Lea Monkhouse, the 2018 Big West Freshman of the Year at Hawai'i. All five are vying for playing time this season in an already crowded lineup.
The Bruins will find out how they stack up early on with the nation's top teams as they host No. 5/6 Cal Poly in the season opener on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 8:00 a.m. at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center. Later that weekend, UCLA heads to Honolulu, Hawaii to take part in the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic on Saturday, Feb. 23 and Sunday, Feb. 24. The Bruins will face No. 10/11 Stanford, Saint Mary's, No. 6/5 Hawai'i and No. 4/3 Pepperdine in Hawaii. Then the Bruins return to Los Angeles to take on No. 2 USC on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in their 2019 television debut at USC on the Pac-12 Networks at 3:00 p.m. PT.
AVCA COLLEGIATE BEACH VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL (Feb. 11, 2019)
| Rank | School (First place votes) | 2018 Record | 2018 Final Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA (27) | 40-4 | 1 |
| 2 | Southern California | 27-14 | 5 |
| 3 | Florida State (1) | 33-7 | 2 |
| 4 | Pepperdine (2) | 25-5 | 4 |
| 5 | Hawai'i | 37-5 | 3 |
| 6 | Cal Poly | 27-7 | 10 |
| 7 | LSU | 27-14 | 6 |
| 8 | Long Beach State | 26-8 | 7 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 24-9 | 8 |
| 10 | Florida International | 23-12 | 9 |
| 11 | Stanford | 17-13 | 13 |
| 12 | California | 24-8 | 12 |
| 13 | Georgia State | 24-12 | 11 |
| 14 | Arizona | 20-12 | 14 |
| 15 | Loyola Marymount | 22-14 | 15 |
| 16 | Grand Canyon | 13-16 | 18 |
| 17 | Stetson | 30-8 | 16 |
| 18 | Tulane | 23-14 | 17 |
| 19 | TCU | 10-22 | NR |
| 20 | Florida Atlantic | 18-15 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Saint Mary's, Washington, Arizona State, UAB, Houston Baptist, Florida Gulf Coast, Coastal Carolina, CSUN, College of Charleston, Southern Miss, Nebraska, New Mexico
Next Poll: February 25