UCLA at No. 3 Kentucky
Date/Time: Wednesday, Sept. 2, 4 p.m. (PT)
Location: Lexington, Ky. (Historic Memorial Coliseum)
Watch: ESPN2
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA at Miami
Date/Time: Sept. 4-5 | 3:30 p.m. PT and 1 p.m. (PT)
Location: Coral Gables, Fla. (Knight Sports Complex)
Watch: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA TRAVELS TO NO. 3 KENTUCKY, MIAMI TO BEGIN ROAD TRIP
The UCLA women’s volleyball team will begin its 11-game road trip when it takes on No. 3 Kentucky on Wednesday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. PT inside Historic Memorial Coliseum. The Bruins will then travel to Coral Gables, Fla. for a pair of matches at Miami on Sept. 4 and 5. Friday's match is set for a 3:30 p.m. (PT) first serve and Saturday's contest is slated for a 1 p.m. (PT) start.

FIRST SERVE

• Head Coach Matt Werle enters his first season as UCLA's head coach
• UCLA won back-to-back matches against Long Beach State to open the 2026 season
• Marianna Singletary was named Big Ten Player of the Week after racking up 5.07 points-per-set and 2.43 blocks-per-set
• Freshman Brooke Harwood posted back-to-back double-digit kill performances to start her collegiate career
• After dropping the opening set on Friday night, UCLA won seven consecutive sets
• Setter Kate Duffey has averaged 11.57 assists-per-set across UCLA's first two matches
• Ava Utterback has made an immediate impact after transferring in from Louisville, averaging 3.50 points-per-set
• Lola Schumacher owns a 24-match streak of double-digit digs dating back to Sept. 26 of the 2025 season
• In 2025, UCLA made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021 where it met Kentucky in the NCAA Second Round
• UCLA earned its 39th overall NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025
• The Bruins own a 95-36 (.725) all-time postseason record and have captured four national championships
• The Bruins won seven of eight five set matches in 2025 (7-1 on the season)
• Cheridyn Leverette was selected in the fourth round (pick No. 31) of the MLV Draft by the Orlando Valkyries
• Leverette went for a season-high 25 kills in the Bruins' five-set win over Michigan (Nov. 26)
• Cheridyn Leverette, Lola Schumacher, and Marianna Singletary received First Team All-Big Ten honors
• UCLA snapped Nebraska's 48-set win streak on Nov. 14, 2025
• In the match against No. 1 Nebraska, UCLA set a new program attendance record with a crowd of 10,498
• The Bruins were the only Big Ten team to take a set from Nebraska in 2025
• Marianna Singletary led the conference in total blocks (159) and ranked fourth in blocks-per-set (1.30 - T4th)
• Kate Duffey had nine double-doubles on the season
• Duffey recorded her 1,000th career assist in UCLA's match at Washington (Nov. 22)
• Maggie Li collected her 1,000th career, reaching the milestone on Nov. 6 at Oregon
• Lola Schumacher led the Big Ten in digs-per-set (4.38) and total digs (495)
• The Bruins earned a total of three ranked wins (No. 15 Penn State, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 22 USC)
• UCLA's win over No. 14 Minnesota was its first sweep over a ranked opponent since Oct. 31, 2021 (No. 8 Washington)
• The Bruins added three transfers and four freshmen to the 2026 squad, totaling seven newcomers
• Cheridyn Leverette led the team in scoring with 4.22 points-per-set and 3.88 kills-per-set in 2025
• The Bruins finished tied for 6th in the 2025 Big Ten standings
• UCLA welcomes seven newcomers (three transfers, four freshmen) for the 2026 season

UCLA OPENS 2026 SEASON WITH TWO WINS OVER LONG BEACH STATE
Across its opening weekend, UCLA established a commanding early identity, sweeping its two‑match series against Long Beach State. The Bruins opened the Matt Werle era on Friday with a four‑set road win inside the Pyramid, hitting .304 and stuffing 14 blocks while Marianna Singletary and Brooke Harwood took command at the net. Less than 24 hours later, UCLA returned to Pauley Pavilion and looked even sharper, cruising to a straight‑sets victory behind 12.5 team blocks, a balanced .232 attack, and another wave of standout performances from Harwood, Singletary, Ava Utterback, Eliana Urzua, and setter Kate Duffey, who delivered her first double‑double of the season.

MATT WERLE ENTERS FIRST SEASON AS UCLA HEAD COACH
UCLA Athletics named Matt Werle the next head coach of the UCLA women’s volleyball program in February 2026. 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. Werle most recently 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. 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.

SINGLETARY NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Singletary led UCLA to a perfect 2-0 start on opening weekend, anchoring the Bruins with elite two-way production in both matches against Long Beach State. In Friday’s four set win at LBSU, she delivered a blistering performance with 16 kills on a .429 clip while roofing nine blocks, repeatedly snuffing out Beach swings and propelling UCLA through momentum shifting stretches. She followed that outing with another commanding effort inside Pauley Pavilion, striking for nine kills, adding eight more blocks, and finishing with 13 points as she controlled the net from start to finish. Across the two matches, Singletary combined for 25 kills on .385 hitting with 17 total blocks.

CHANGES TO THE STAFF
UCLA women's volleyball has solidified its coaching staff under newly-appointed head coach Matt Werle, promoting Stevi Robinson-Trail to Associate Head Coach and naming Bryan Dell'Amico an assistant coach for the Bruins. Robinson-Trail enters her third season in Westwood after playing a central role in UCLA's return to the NCAA Tournament and its successful transition into the Big Ten Conference. Dell'Amico joins the Bruins following a highly decorated tenure with the Grand Canyon University men's volleyball program, where he was honored as the 2025 AVCA Men's Assistant Coach of the Year. Shortly after, Werle named Kylie Miller an assistant coach for the 2026 season. Miller returns to Westwood with Division I coaching experience and an accomplished collegiate playing career. Miller arrives at UCLA after serving as an assistant coach at UC Irvine, where she spent the 2025 season with the Anteaters. Prior to her time in Irvine, Miller was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at CSUN from 2022-23. A native of Rancho Cucamonga, Miller spent her first three collegiate seasons at UCLA, appearing in 179 sets and totaling 1,278 assists, 34 aces, and 211 digs. She helped lead the Bruins to the Elite Eight in 2016, finishing the year ranked No. 6 nationally. Miller completed her career at Minnesota, where she helped the Gophers to a 27-6 record and a Final Four berth.

UCLA PICKED TO FINISH NINTH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
UCLA was picked to finish ninth out of 18 teams in the 2026 Big Ten Women’s Volleyball preseason poll, while libero Lola Schumacher and middle blocker Marianna Singletary were named to the league’s Preseason All‑Conference Team. The Bruins finished tied for sixth in the Big Ten standings in 2025, concluding the regular season with a conference record of 12-8, finishing level with Penn State and Minnesota.

2026 BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL

1. Nebraska
2. Wisconsin
3. Penn State
4. Purdue
5. Minnesota
6. Indiana
7. USC
8. Oregon
9. UCLA
10. Illinois
11. Michigan
12. Michigan State
13. Washington
14. Northwestern
15. Iowa
16. Ohio State
17. Rutgers
18. Maryland

Schumacher, Singletary Named to Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Lola Schumacher and middle blocker Marianna Singletary were named to the league’s Preseason All‑Conference Team. Schumacher and Singletary earned preseason recognition after both securing First Team All‑Big Ten honors in 2025, anchoring a UCLA squad that returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.

SUPER SCHUMACHER
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.

UCLA RETURNS TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The Bruins returned to the postseason for the first time since 202. Last year's bid represented UCLA's 39th overall NCAA Tournament appearance. The Bruins own a 95-36 (.725) all-time postseason record and have captured four national championships. In 2021, UCLA won its first two postseason contests against Fairfield and UCF, then fell to the eventual national champions, Wisconsin, in the Regional Semifinals.

LEVERETTE SELECTED IN FOURTH ROUND OF MLV DRAFT
Senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette was selected in the fourth round of the Major League Volleyball (MLV) by the Orlando Valkyries. The 2024 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American was selected with the 31st overall pick on Monday morning by the reigning 2025 MLV Champions. Leverette becomes the first UCLA player ever drafted into the MLV and will join fellow Bruin Audrey Pak, who signed with the Columbus Fury in August. Leverette's rise to national prominence began with her breakout 2024 campaign, where she earned AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and First Team All-Big Ten honors.