LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women's volleyball team closed its home slate in dramatic fashion, grinding out a five-set victory over Illinois on Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
Set scores were 25-27, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 15-12.
Cheridyn Leverette powered the Bruin attack with 20 kills, guiding UCLA (16-11, 10-7 Big Ten) to its fourth five-set victory of the season. The Bruins have now won four of their five matches that have gone the distance in 2025.
Libero Lola Schumacher anchored the defense by matching her career-high with 27 digs and added seven assists. Off the bench, setter Zayna Meyer contributed a gritty double-double of 24 assists and 13 digs.
Maggie Li continued her hot streak with 16 kills and 15 digs, marking her fourth straight double-double and fifth in the last six matches. Middle blocker Marianna Singletary delivered a breakout performance, notching the first double-double of her career with 14 kills and 10 blocks.
In the final frame, Hendrickson delivered a three-point service run, capped by an ace, to give UCLA a 6-4 edge. The Bruins led 8-5 at the switch, but Illinois chipped away to make it 10-9, prompting a UCLA timeout. Out of the break, the Bruins won a marathon rally punctuated by a Leverette kill to regain momentum at 11-9. Phekran Kong delivered a crucial kill to set up match point, and Li finished the job with her 16th kill of the night, sealing the 15-12 victory.
Set one saw Illinois struck first with a 4-0 run to grab a 6-3 lead, but UCLA quickly answered with three straight points to even the score at 6-6. Marianna Singletary kept the Bruins close with two early kills, though the Illini held a slim 15-13 edge at the media timeout. Illinois extended its advantage to 18-14 before UCLA clawed back, a Briscoe kill and back-to-back Singletary blocks cut the deficit to one. Duffey then delivered a clutch out-of-system kill to tie the frame at 18-18. The Illini surged again, forcing a Bruin timeout at 22-19, but UCLA responded with an ace from Hendrickson and another Singletary block to tie it at 23-23. The Bruins fought off two set points, yet Illinois capitalized on UCLA's 12 attack errors to take the opener in extra points, 27-25. Leverette and Li combined for eight kills in the set.
The Bruins came out firing in the second set, building a 5-2 lead behind two Leverette kills. Illinois countered with a 3-0 spurt to tie it at 5-5, but Li caught fire with four kills to push UCLA ahead 9-7. The Illini briefly regained momentum with four straight points, but UCLA steadied behind strong floor defense and timely swings. A 6-2 Bruin run gave them a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Singletary dominated late, hammering six kills in the frame, while Anastasija Ivkovic added a key strike to extend the cushion to 22-19. Singletary capped the set with her sixth kill, evening the match at one apiece.
Illinois raced out to a 5-1 lead in set three, forcing an early UCLA timeout, and stretched the margin to 13-7 with efficient offense. Leverette kept the Bruins within striking distance, tallying four kills to trim the deficit to 15-13. Illinois responded with another burst to go up 23-17, but UCLA refused to fold sa 4-0 run fueled by Leverette and Singletary pulled the Bruins within two at 23-21. The rally fell short, however, as Illinois closed out the set 25-22. UCLA struggled with seven attack errors and four service miscues, hitting just .150.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins seized control early. Leverette and Singletary sparked a 4-0 run to break an 8-8 tie, giving UCLA a 12-8 lead. The Bruins extended the margin to 15-10 at the media timeout, with Meyer adding a crafty setter dump to keep Illinois off balance. Leverette continued her hot hand, pounding two more kills to fuel a 4-0 closing run. UCLA dominated the frame 25-17, hitting efficiently and forcing a decisive fifth set.
UCLA begins its three-game road trip to close out the regular season on Sat, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. (PT) when it travels to Washington. The match will be available for viewing on B1G+.
Set scores were 25-27, 25-21, 22-25, 25-17, 15-12.
Cheridyn Leverette powered the Bruin attack with 20 kills, guiding UCLA (16-11, 10-7 Big Ten) to its fourth five-set victory of the season. The Bruins have now won four of their five matches that have gone the distance in 2025.
Libero Lola Schumacher anchored the defense by matching her career-high with 27 digs and added seven assists. Off the bench, setter Zayna Meyer contributed a gritty double-double of 24 assists and 13 digs.
Maggie Li continued her hot streak with 16 kills and 15 digs, marking her fourth straight double-double and fifth in the last six matches. Middle blocker Marianna Singletary delivered a breakout performance, notching the first double-double of her career with 14 kills and 10 blocks.
In the final frame, Hendrickson delivered a three-point service run, capped by an ace, to give UCLA a 6-4 edge. The Bruins led 8-5 at the switch, but Illinois chipped away to make it 10-9, prompting a UCLA timeout. Out of the break, the Bruins won a marathon rally punctuated by a Leverette kill to regain momentum at 11-9. Phekran Kong delivered a crucial kill to set up match point, and Li finished the job with her 16th kill of the night, sealing the 15-12 victory.
Set one saw Illinois struck first with a 4-0 run to grab a 6-3 lead, but UCLA quickly answered with three straight points to even the score at 6-6. Marianna Singletary kept the Bruins close with two early kills, though the Illini held a slim 15-13 edge at the media timeout. Illinois extended its advantage to 18-14 before UCLA clawed back, a Briscoe kill and back-to-back Singletary blocks cut the deficit to one. Duffey then delivered a clutch out-of-system kill to tie the frame at 18-18. The Illini surged again, forcing a Bruin timeout at 22-19, but UCLA responded with an ace from Hendrickson and another Singletary block to tie it at 23-23. The Bruins fought off two set points, yet Illinois capitalized on UCLA's 12 attack errors to take the opener in extra points, 27-25. Leverette and Li combined for eight kills in the set.
The Bruins came out firing in the second set, building a 5-2 lead behind two Leverette kills. Illinois countered with a 3-0 spurt to tie it at 5-5, but Li caught fire with four kills to push UCLA ahead 9-7. The Illini briefly regained momentum with four straight points, but UCLA steadied behind strong floor defense and timely swings. A 6-2 Bruin run gave them a 15-13 lead at the media timeout. Singletary dominated late, hammering six kills in the frame, while Anastasija Ivkovic added a key strike to extend the cushion to 22-19. Singletary capped the set with her sixth kill, evening the match at one apiece.
Illinois raced out to a 5-1 lead in set three, forcing an early UCLA timeout, and stretched the margin to 13-7 with efficient offense. Leverette kept the Bruins within striking distance, tallying four kills to trim the deficit to 15-13. Illinois responded with another burst to go up 23-17, but UCLA refused to fold sa 4-0 run fueled by Leverette and Singletary pulled the Bruins within two at 23-21. The rally fell short, however, as Illinois closed out the set 25-22. UCLA struggled with seven attack errors and four service miscues, hitting just .150.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins seized control early. Leverette and Singletary sparked a 4-0 run to break an 8-8 tie, giving UCLA a 12-8 lead. The Bruins extended the margin to 15-10 at the media timeout, with Meyer adding a crafty setter dump to keep Illinois off balance. Leverette continued her hot hand, pounding two more kills to fuel a 4-0 closing run. UCLA dominated the frame 25-17, hitting efficiently and forcing a decisive fifth set.
UCLA begins its three-game road trip to close out the regular season on Sat, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. (PT) when it travels to Washington. The match will be available for viewing on B1G+.