LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women’s volleyball team capped a flawless 2-0 week with a straight‑sets victory over Long Beach State on Saturday night inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
Set scores were 25-21, 30-28, 25-16.
UCLA hit .232 for the match and dominated defensively, stuffing 12.5 blocks to limit The Beach throughout the night.
Freshman Brooke Harwood starred once again, delivering a brilliant encore to her collegiate debut just one night prior. The middle blocker struck for a team‑high 13 kills on a .500 clip, added four blocks, and filled up the stat sheet with 15 total points, repeatedly sparking momentum‑shifting rallies.
Ava Utterback produced another excellent all‑around performance with 10 kills, six digs, and two blocks, while Marianna Singletary turned in a monster two‑way outing with nine kills and eight blocks, totaling 13 points. Eliana Urzua also reached double‑digit scoring, depositing eight kills and sending back five blocks for 10.5 points.
Setter Kate Duffey orchestrated the attack with precision, handing out 36 assists and snuffing out 12 digs for her first double‑double of the season. At libero, Lola Schumacher anchored the back row with 13 digs and four assists.
UCLA jumped out early behind Singletary smashing an overpass and a blistering Vivian Hickman ace. Long Beach responded with a surge, rattling off six of seven points to seize an 8-5 advantage and force a Bruin timeout. UCLA regained command when Maggie Li connected for back‑to‑back kills, sparking a 4-0 run to climb ahead 9-8 and prompt a Beach timeout.
The frame continued to trade blows until UCLA seized momentum with a 3-0 stretch fueled by a Li ace and an explosive Urzua kill after a wild rally. Harwood then took over late, delivering a block and kill to push UCLA out to 23–19. Li concluded the opener with a thunderous swing to secure the 25-21 win.
The Bruins jumped out to a 5-1 lead behind strikes from Singletary, Urzua, and Utterback. Long Beach trimmed the deficit, but Singletary blasted a kill to restore a four‑point buffer and force a timeout. The Beach rattled off three straight out of the break until Singletary snuffed out the run with a block for the sideout.
Long Beach surged to a 15-14 advantage at the halfway point, but UCLA regained control with back‑to‑back wild rallies to climb ahead 20-19. Singletary stuck up another huge block, and Utterback capped an epic rally to make it 22–20. The Beach answered with three straight to regain the lead and force a UCLA timeout.
The closing stretch became an instant classic. Harwood hammered consecutive kills to fend off set point and bring UCLA to set point. After a service error, the freshman deposited her third straight kill to force another set point. Singletary then fired for two more kills to bring two additional set points to the line. After LBSU survived again, Singletary and Urzua teamed up for a roof to make it 29-28. An attacking error from The Beach finally ended the marathon frame, giving UCLA the 30-28 victory.
Ava Sarafa made her UCLA debut in the second set, picking up four digs.
UCLA opened the frame with a 4-0 run behind a Harwood kill and block to take a 5-2 lead. Long Beach answered with four straight to climb ahead, but Utterback delivered a sideout kill to steady the Bruins. Duffey then produced a crafty dump kill and joined Singletary for a block to cap a 3-0 run, forcing a Beach timeout.
Duffey’s ace and another Singletary block extended the margin to 14-9. Urzua blasted back‑to‑back kills to stretch the lead to 17-10, and Harwood continued her dominance with consecutive kills to maintain a seven‑point cushion at 19-12. Harwood then helped UCLA cruise to the finish line with another kill‑and‑block sequence, and Utterback delivered the finishing blow on match point to close out the sweep.
UCLA now heads to No. 3 Kentucky for its first-ever appearance in the 2026 Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. PT in Lexington, Ky. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.