CHICAGO – First-year head coach Matt Werle, junior libero Lola Schumacher, and senior outside hitter Maggie Li will represent UCLA women’s volleyball in Chicago for Big Ten Volleyball Media Day at Big Ten Network Headquarters and InterContinental Chicago Hotel on Monday, Aug. 3.
Big Ten Volleyball Media Days will feature multiple interviews with members of the broadcast, print and online media, including the conference’s television partners. Werle, Schumacher, and Li will appear in a live segment featured on Big Ten Network beginning at 2 p.m. CT, then the trio will take the stage for a press conference beginning at 3:15 p.m. CT.
Werle arrives in Westwood after a successful stint at Kansas and a decade of meteoric success as the head coach of Grand Canyon University’s men’s volleyball program.
In his 10 seasons at Grand Canyon, Werle posted a 154-93 record and quickly elevated the Lopes into a national contender. During the 2024 campaign, Werle steered Grand Canyon to its first-ever No. 1 national ranking and coached the program’s first AVCA First Team All-American. He was named both MPSF and AVCA National Coach of the Year after leading the Lopes to their first MPSF Championship and the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory. Werle spent the 2025 season at Kansas as the program’s Associate Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, where he helped guide the Jayhawks to a Sweet 16 appearance.
Schumacher was recently named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. In her debut season with the Bruins, Schumacher quickly emerged as one of the nation’s premier liberos, leading UCLA with 495 digs (4.38 per set) and reaching double‑digit digs in 28 of her 29 starts. She surpassed the 20‑dig mark seven times, highlighted by a career‑best 27 digs in a five‑set win over Illinois. Schumacher closed the season with five 20‑plus dig performances in her final six matches and added 115 assists, six kills, and two Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Li delivered a strong junior campaign, appearing in 26 matches and 75 sets as a starting outside hitter while totaling 191 kills, 121 digs, 20 blocks, and 210 points. She reached double‑digit kills 11 times and produced six double‑doubles, all coming in her final 10 matches as she closed the season on one of the team’s most consistent offensive stretches. Her year featured several standout performances, including 20 kills on .333 hitting against No. 1 Nebraska, 18 kills in the opener at Long Beach State, and a 16‑kill, 15‑dig effort in a five‑set win over Illinois. Li added key contributions in conference play with 15 kills against Northwestern and 13 kills with 11 digs versus Washington, and she delivered 12 kills and 10 digs in UCLA’s NCAA Tournament victory over Georgia Tech. Defensively, she posted six double‑digit dig matches, highlighted by 15 against Illinois, before closing her season with six kills and three digs against national runners-up, Kentucky.
UCLA will open its season on Aug. 28 at Long Beach State for a contest that is set to begin at 7 p.m. PT inside Walter Pyramid. This will mark the first match of the Werle era.