LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UCLA women’s volleyball team suffered its first defeat of the season on Wednesday night, falling to No. 3 Kentucky inside Historic Memorial Coliseum in the 2026 Allstate Big Ten/SEC Challenge.

Set scores were 25-13, 25-18, 25-23.

In a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Second Round matchup, Kentucky (4-1) used strong play at the service line with seven aces and an efficient attack (.346) to hand UCLA (2-1) its first defeat of the season.

Ava Utterback impressed with nine kills on an efficient hitting percentage of .333. Mija Bendziute caught fire late in the match to finish with nine kills of her own. Marianna Singletary racked up five blocks on the defensive end in addition to her three kills.

Ava Sarafa entered the contest in the second set and impressed in her first stint of prolonged action at the setter position, handing out 13 assists with six digs against her former team. At the libero position, Lola Schumacher snuffed out 11 digs.

Hazel Alevok made her collegiate debut, seeing action in the second set.

Kentucky opened the match on a 7-2 run, putting UCLA on its heels from the start. Singletary and Urzua teamed up for a crucial block to finally secure a sideout, and Utterback followed by catching fire, delivering three straight kills to spark a 4-0 scoring run that trimmed the deficit to 10-8. The Wildcats answered immediately with an 8-0 surge, capitalizing on UCLA’s serve‑receive struggles by stacking three aces during the run to rebuild an eight‑point cushion. Kentucky controlled the remainder of the frame and claimed the opening set, 25-13.

The Wildcats opened enjoyed another strong start in the second set, posting a 5-1 run before UCLA began to settle in, using a pair of blocks and a Singletary kill to regain momentum and pull even at 6-6. Utterback continued her strong night with three more kills in the frame, keeping the Bruins within striking distance. Kentucky later stretched its lead to 18-13 after a 4-1 spurt, prompting a UCLA timeout. The Bruins answered by taking three of the next four points to close within 19-16, but the Wildcats finished the set with a steady push and won the frame, 25-18.

UCLA stayed stride‑for‑stride with Kentucky through the early phases of the third set, getting a pair of kills from Maggie Li to stay within one at 5-4 before an Utterback ace leveled the frame at 7-7. Singletary then delivered a pivotal solo block that ignited a 4-0 Bruin run, pushing UCLA ahead 13-12 after a Bendziute ace. Bendziute caught fire with six kills in the set, including a clutch swing to tie it at 18-18, as the teams traded points down the stretch. She continued to power the offense with heavy swings, and Singletary added a massive block to knot the score at 22-22, but Kentucky claimed three of the next four rallies to close out the set, 25-23.

The Bruins return to action on Friday, Sept. 4, heading to Miami for a 3:30 p.m. PT matchup on ACC Network Extra.