UCLA at Utah State
Date/Time: Wednesday, Sept. 9, 6 p.m. (PT)
Location: Logan, Utah (Wayne Estes Center)
Watch: PAC-12 YouTube Channel
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA at BYU
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 11, 5:30 p.m. (PT)
Location: Provo, Utah (Smith Fieldhouse)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA at Utah
Date/Time: Sunday, Sept. 13, 5 p.m. (PT)
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah (Jon M. Huntsman Center)
Watch: ESPN
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA SET FOR THREE-MATCH ROAD SWING IN UTAH
The UCLA women’s volleyball team will travel to Utah for a three-match road swing, opening with a contest at Utah State on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 5 p.m. PT inside the Wayne Estes Center. The Bruins will then travel to Provo, Utah to take on BYU at 5:30 p.m. PT. UCLA will wrap up the weekend in Salt Lake City where it will faceoff with Utah for a nationally televised 5 p.m. PT matchup on ESPN.

FIRST SERVE

• Head Coach Matt Werle enters his first season as UCLA's head coach
• UCLA has enjoyed a 4-1 start to the 2026 campaign, winning three of those contests via the sweep
• Setter Ava Sarafa started both matches in UCLA's back-to-back victories at Miami, averaging 12 assists-per-set
• Ava Utterback has made an immediate impact after transferring in from Louisville, averaging 3.59 points-per-set
• Marianna Singletary is UCLA's leading scorer with 4.09 points-per-set
• Brooke Harwood has quickly become a go‑to weapon for the Bruins, averaging 3.22 points per set on .434 hitting
• UCLA started four newcomers in its most recent win over Miami (Harwood, Sarafa, Thompson, Utterback)
• 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
• 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 PICKS UP TWO WINS AT MIAMI
UCLA’s three‑match stretch began with a tough road test at No. 3 Kentucky, where the Bruins were swept despite late pushes in the second and third sets. Kentucky’s pressure from the service line and a .346 attack kept UCLA on its heels, though Ava Utterback and Mija Bendziute provided bright spots with nine kills apiece, and Ava Sarafa delivered 13 assists and six digs in her first extended run at setter. UCLA carried that competitive edge into Miami, where the Bruins flipped the script with back‑to‑back sweeps, rallying late in all six sets and hitting nearly .300 on both nights. Brooke Harwood, Marianna Singletary, and Bendziute powered a balanced attack, while Sarafa totaled 72 assists across the weekend to guide UCLA to its most efficient offensive performances of the season.

SARAFA'S INSTANT IMPACT
Ava Sarafa delivered two poised, high‑impact outings across UCLA’s back‑to‑back sweeps in Miami, totaling 72 assists while steering the Bruins to their two most efficient offensive performances of the young season. In Friday’s win, she posted 32 assists and six digs, winning a key joust and guiding UCLA to a season‑best .310 hitting percentage. She followed that with 40 assists on Saturday, mixing tempo, distributing cleanly, and even dropping in a perfectly timed dump kill as UCLA hit .294 in another tight, late‑set battle.

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.

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.