UCLA vs. No. 15 Penn State
Date/Time: Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m. (PT)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial)
Watch: B1G+
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA vs. Ohio State
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 18, 3 p.m. (PT)
Location: Los Angeles, Calif. (Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial)
Watch: B1G+
Live Stats: UCLA.statbroadcast.com

UCLA HOSTS NO. 15 PENN STATE, OHIO STATE
The UCLA women’s volleyball team will return to Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial when it hosts No. 15 Penn State on Friday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. PT.  The Bruins will then face Ohio State on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.  Both contests will be available for viewing on B1G+, with Darren Preston and Sarah Pavan on the call. Fans can follow live stats on ucla.statbroadcast.com.

FIRST SERVE

• Head Coach Matt Werle enters his first season as UCLA's head coach
• UCLA enters the fourth weekend of Big Ten Conference play with a 4-2 record
• The Bruins have seen just six of their 17 matches extend beyond three sets this season
• UCLA earned its first Big Ten win of the Matt Werle era with a straight-sets victory over Northwestern
• Maggie Li is UCLA's leading scorer with 3.77 points-per-set
• Marianna Singletary ranks 3rd in the nation with 1.68 blocks-per-set and 5th nationally in total blocks with 99 on the year
• Singletary leads the Big Ten in both blocks-per-set (1.68) and total blocks (99)
• Mija Bendziute posted a career-high 14 kills in UCLA's victory over Maryland on Oct. 9
• Jordyn Johnson delivered a breakout performance in the win over Rutgers (Oct. 10) with a career-high nine blocks
• Brooke Harwood has quickly become a go‑to weapon for the Bruins, averaging 3.09 points per set on .389 hitting
• Lola Schumacher went for a career-high 29 digs in the five-set win over Hawaii, earning tournament MVP honors
• Brooke Harwood, Eliana Urzua, and Lola Schumacher were named to the Lucky Aces Invitational All-Tournament team
• In 2025, UCLA made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2021 where it met Kentucky in the NCAA Second Round
• The Bruins own a 95-36 (.725) all-time postseason record and have captured four national championships
• The Bruins won seven of their 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 last season (Nov. 26, 2025)
• 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
• The Bruins were the only Big Ten team to take a set from Nebraska in 2025
• The Bruins earned a total of three ranked wins (No. 15 Penn State, No. 14 Minnesota, No. 22 USC) in 2025
• 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
• UCLA welcomes seven newcomers (three transfers, four freshmen) for the 2026 season

UCLA EARNS TWO WINS ON EAST COAST TRIP
UCLA capped a successful Big Ten road trip with back-to-back victories over Maryland and Rutgers, improving to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play. The Bruins opened the weekend with a gritty five-set comeback win over Maryland, overcoming deficits twice behind a balanced offensive attack that hit .311 and produced a 14-5 advantage in blocks. Maggie Li paced the offense with 19 kills, while Mija Bendziute added a career-high 14 kills and Marianna Singletary contributed 11 kills and eight blocks. After dropping the third set and losing libero Lola Schumacher to injury, UCLA responded with a dominant fourth set and closed out the match in the fifth behind key contributions from Singletary, Hazel Alevok, and Brooke Harwood. The Bruins carried that momentum into Saturday’s four-set win at Rutgers, hitting .341 while controlling the first two sets and weathering a marathon third-set loss before finishing the match in the fourth. Li again led the way with 16 kills, while Bendziute amassed 19 points with a season-high four aces and six solo blocks. Jordyn Johnson made her first start of the season and recorded a season-best seven blocks, helping UCLA dominate at the net. Despite Rutgers extending the match with a 31-29 third-set victory, the Bruins responded behind Li’s late surge in the fourth set to complete the weekend sweep and extend their conference momentum heading into a home matchup against Penn State.

BENDZIUTE'S BRILLIANCE
Against Maryland, Mija Bendziute enjoyed a breakout performance when she delivered a career-high 14 kills, hitting .256 while adding three blocks in UCLA's five-set comeback victory. Her production helped give the Bruins a third double-digit attacker and added balance to an offense that finished with 70 kills.
One night later at Rutgers, she followed with eight kills on .400 hitting, while also contributing three service aces, six digs, and five block assists in a straight-set sweep.

STELLAR SINGLETARY
Marianna Singletary has been one of UCLA’s most dominant and reliable forces through the first half matches of the season, pairing elite efficiency with heavy point production. She’s totaled a team-high 157 kills on .351 hitting while racking up 99 total blocks, and 220.5 points, establishing herself as one of the nation’s most productive middles. She ranks third nationally in both blocks-per-set and fifth in total blocks.

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
With UCLA earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 2025, the Bruins returned to the postseason for the first time since 2022. 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.

UCLA ON B1G+
UCLA's matches that are not televised will be available for viewing on B1G+, the Big Ten Network's subscription streaming platform, which offers access to nearly 2,500 events annually. The Bruins will be streamed on B1G+ at least nine times this season, with eight games scheduled to be televised on Big Ten Network, two on FS1, and one on NBC. B1G+ subscriptions can be purchased directly at www.bigtenplus.com. Fans can subscribe to B1G+ with an annual pass ($89.99 per year) or a monthly pass ($12.99). B1G+ subscriptions can also be purchased via in-app purchase in B1G+ apps.