Top-Ranked Bruins Host East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach

Friday, March 13

Manhattan Beach, Calif.

9:00 AM (PT)

UCLA

Arizona State

Ava Williamson and Alexa Fernandez

Photo by: Imogen Moro

Top-Ranked Bruins Host East Meets West Invitational in Manhattan Beach

March 12, 2026 | Beach Volleyball

No. 1 UCLA (11-2) will host the East Meets West Invitational at the Manhattan Beach Pier March 13 and 14. Joining the Bruins in the tournament will be No. 5 Texas (7-3), No. 8 Arizona State (10-0), No. 9 LMU (9-4), No. 10 California (8-5), No. 12 LSU (10-4), No. 13 Hawai'i (6-5) and FIU (5-4). Admission is free.

Play begins on Friday with Arizona State taking on UCLA at 9am. The Bruins' second match of the day will be against LSU at 1pm. On Saturday, the Bruins first face Texas at 10am and conclude with a dual against FIU at 2pm. Live scores will be provided throughout the tournament on Statbroadcast and are linked below.

Full Tournament Schedule
Friday, March 13
9am (CT 1-3) - ASU vs. UCLA
9:30am (CT 4-6) - LSU vs. Cal
11am (CT 1-3) - FIU vs. LMU
11:30am (CT 4-6) - Texas vs. Hawai'i
1pm (CT 1-3) - LSU vs. UCLA
1:30pm (CT 4-6) - ASU vs. Cal
3pm (CT 1-3) - Texas vs. LMU
3:30pm (CT 4-6) - FIU vs. Hawai'i

Saturday, March 14
8am (CT 1-3) - LSU vs. LMU
8:30am (CT 4-6) - FIU vs. Cal
10am (CT 1-3) - Texas vs. UCLA
10:30am (CT 4-6) - LSU vs. Hawai'i
12pm (CT 1-3) - ASU vs. LMU
12:30pm (CT 4-6) - Texas vs. Cal
2pm (CT 1-3) - FIU vs. UCLA
2:30pm (CT 4-6) - ASU vs. Hawai'i

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Opponent: No. 8 Arizona State| LIVE STATS
Location: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Date: Friday, March 13
Time: 9 a.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 12-1 | Streak: Won 12
Last Meeting: W 5-0 (April 11, 2025 – Center of Effort Challenge @ San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

Opponent: No. 12 LSU | LIVE STATS
Location: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Date: Friday, March 13
Time: 1 p.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 21-2 | Streak: Won 13
Last Meeting: W 4-1 (March 14, 2025 – Death Volley Invitational @ Baton Rouge, La.)

Opponent: No. 5 Texas | LIVE STATS
Location: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Date: Saturday, March 14
Time: 10 a.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 3-0 | Streak: Won 3
Last Meeting: W 5-0 (Feb. 19, 2026 – Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic @ Honolulu, Hawaii)

Opponent: FIU | LIVE STATS
Location: Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Date: Saturday, March 14
Time: 2 p.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 11-0 | Streak: Won 11
Last Meeting: W 5-0 (March 15, 2025 – East Meets West Invitational – Manhattan Beach, Calif.)

LAST TIME OUT
UCLA went 4-0 for the second consecutive week, downing three ranked teams at the MPSF Midseason Rumble at Mapes Beach March 6-7. The Bruins dropped just two points in the tournament, sweeping No. 18 Washington and Oregon and taking down both No. 1 Stanford and No. 16 Grand Canyon, 4-1. On court 1, Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd won all four of their matches to extend their winning streak to five. They are 12-1 on the year and have dropped just four sets. On court 2, Ensley Alden also went 4-0, winning both matches on Friday with Ava Williamson and both on Saturday with Kaley Mathews. Harper Cooper went 4-0 with three different teammates, going 2-0 with Jesse Dueck, 1-0 with Mathews and 1-0 with Alexa Fernandez, all straight-set wins. Cooper is 13-0 this year.

BOYD MOVES UP TO NINTH ON ALL-TIME WIN LIST
With four more victories last weekend, senior Maggie Boyd moved up from 11^th to ninth on UCLA's career victory list with 104. On Feb. 28, she became the 11^th Bruin to reach 100 career victories. She has 43 of her 100 wins with Perez, which ranks the duo tied for No. 4 in school history for career wins.

UCLA Career Victories
1. Lexy Denaburg (2020-24) - 133
2. Abby Van Winkle (2019-23) - 128
3. Izzy Carey (2016-19) - 123
4. Savvy Simo (2017-21) - 119
5. Lea Monkhouse (2019-22) - 117
6. Megan McNamara (2016-19) - 111
7. Jaden Whitmarsh (2019-24) - 110
8. Nicole McNamara (2016-19) - 109
9. Maggie Boyd (2023-25) - 104

UCLA Career Pairs Victories
1. Megan McNamara/Nicole McNamara (2016-19) - 109
2. Sarah Sponcil/Lily Justine (2018-19) – 59
3. Maggie Boyd/Lexy Denaburg (2023-24) – 57
4t. Sally Perez/Maggie Boyd (2025-pres.) – 43
4t. Izzy Carey/Megan Muret (20118-19) – 43

UNBEATENS
Three Bruins remain unbeaten on the year - sophomore Harper Cooper at 13-0, redshirt sophomore Taylor Ford at 3-0 and redshirt junior Kenzie Brower at 2-0. Cooper is 5-0 on court 3 and 8-0 on court 4 and has played with five different partners this year. Ford and Brower are both unbeaten on court 5, one of their wins coming as a pair against No. 18 Washington last week. Ford also has two wins with Mallory LaBreche, and Brower has one with LaBreche.

NATIONAL, CONFERENCE PAIR OF WEEK
Sally Perez and Maggie Boyd won both the AVCA/CBVB and the MPSF/Molten Pair of the Week on March 3 after posting a 4-0 record at the Battle for LA. The Bruin duo earned victories on court 1 over pairs from No. 3 Cal Poly, No. 11 Long Beach State, Boise State and Pepperdine, clinching wins over Cal Poly against All-Americans Ella Connor and Erin Iskeep, 21-16, 19-21, 15-10, and also beating Long Beach State All-Americans Malia Gementera/Taylor Hagenah, 21-14, 21-16.

FRESH FACES
UCLA newcomers include junior transfer Ava Williamson, who was a second-team All-American in 2024 at Arizona State, and a freshman class that includes Junior Beach All-Americans Mallory LaBreche, Olivia Le Blanc and Alina Ryan, along with Jesse Dueck. Williamson has played in all 13 matches this season and is 12-1 overall. LaBreche is 8-2 on court 5 and is 2-0 with Taylor Ford, 5-1 with Adelina Okazaki and 1-0 with Kenzie Brower. LaBreche was also paired with Dueck against USC, and their match was abandoned as they were leading in the third set.

BRUIN COACHES
Entering her 13th year with the Bruins and third season as UCLA's head coach is Olympian, national champion and UCLA Athletics Hall of Famer Jenny Johnson Jordan. The 2025 MPSF Coach of the Year, Johnson Jordan sports an overall record of 78-16 (.830) as she continues her 2026 campaign after guiding the Bruins to a 32-7 record and NCAA semifinal appearance in 2025. She guided the Bruins to the NCAA Championship finals in her first year, ending the 2024 campaign with a 35-7 record and a second-place finish at the Pac-12 Championship. As an assistant coach, she helped the Bruins win back-to-back NCAA titles in 2018 and 2019. Another Bruin national champion serves as an assistant coach. Kelly Reeves, the Bruins' first-ever beach volleyball All-American and a 2011 NCAA indoor volleyball champion, returns for her third season on staff. Former AVP Beach Volleyball star Theo Brunner is in his first year as an assistant coach.

IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA returned to the top spot in the national rankings after its 4-1 win over previous No. 1 Stanford on March 7. The Bruins started the year as the preseason No. 1 and dropped to No. 2 after week 1. Since 2018, no team has been ranked No. 1 for more weeks than the Bruins (44). USC has spent 27 weeks at No. 1 in the last seven years while TCU (10), Pepperdine (4), LSU (4), Stanford (2) and Florida State (1) round out the list. Overall, the Trojans have been ranked No. 1 a total of 50 times in the AVCA Poll, followed by UCLA (44), Pepperdine (17), TCU (10), LSU (4), Stanford (3). Hawai'i (1), and Florida State (1).

LOOKING AHEAD
UCLA will have a week off during finals week and will return to competition on March 27-28 at the Texas Invitational.