Friday, September 15
Norman, OK
3:00 PM
UCLA
at
Oklahoma
Cheridyn Leverette (photo: Suzi Mellano)
Photo by: Suzi Mellano
Bruins Conclude Preseason in Oklahoma
September 13, 2023 | Women's Volleyball
LOS ANGELES โ The UCLA women's volleyball team plays the final two matches of its preseason schedule at Oklahoma in Norman's McCasland Field House this week. The Bruins (7-1), who are riding a seven-match winning streak, square off against the Sooners (5-2) on Friday, Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. (PT) and Saturday, Sept. 16 at 12 p.m. (PT).
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Both contests can be streamed on ESPN+.
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UCLA (7-1) at Oklahoma (5-2)
Date: Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 โ 3 p.m. (PT)
Location: Norman, Okla. (McCasland Field House)
Television: ESPN+
Talent: Chad McKee (play by play), Kelly Files (analyst)
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
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UCLA (7-1) at Oklahoma (5-2)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 โ 12 p.m. (PT)
Location: Norman, Okla. (McCasland Field House)
Television: ESPN+
Talent: Chad McKee (play by play), Kelly Files (analyst)
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
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Quick Hits
ยท Outside hitter Iman Ndiaye leads UCLA in kills (111), kills per set (3.36), points (132.5) and points per set (4.02).
ยท Middle blocker Desiree Becker ranks first in the Pac-12 Conference in blocks (42) and seventh in blocks per set (1.27).
ยท Middle blocker Anna Dodson owns a team-high .430 hitting percentage and ranks fourth on the squad with 2.93 points per set.
ยท Libero Peyton Dueck stars in the Bruins' back row with 120 digs, ranking third in the Pac-12 in that category.
ยท Head coach Alfee Reft has rotated between Ashley Mullen and Audrey Pak at the setter position so far this preseason.
ยท The Bruins' 2023 roster consists of seven newcomers (four freshmen, three transfers), including four who see consistent playing time: starting middle blocker Desiree Becker (Northwestern), outside hitter Carly Hendrickson (Florida), Mullen (Liberty HS) and defensive specialist Kat Lutz (Torrey Pines HS).
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Strong Start
Following a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge, Reft has his first-year group riding a seven-match winning streak heading into Norman. That mark is tied for UCLA's third-longest winning streak over the last 13 years. The Bruins last won seven straight matches in the Fall 2021 campaign under former head coach Michael Sealy (2010-22). UCLA's most recent eight-match winning streaks came in the 2015 and 2010 seasons, which were the longest of Sealy's coaching career. The Bruins have the opportunity to win nine consecutive matches this weekend for the first time since 2008. With two more wins, UCLA will total nine preseason victories which would be tied for the second most over the last 20 seasons. UCLA had 10 preseason wins in 2014 and nine in 2016, 2015 and 2013.
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Outrigger Challenge Champs
UCLA claimed the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge crown for the second year in a row last week, going 3-0 with victories over Pepperdine, Liberty and then-No. 23 Hawai'i. Ndiaye was named the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge Most Valuable Player after totaling a team-high 49.5 points and 42 kills (3.50 KPS) at a .347 hitting percentage in the three matches. Grayce Olson and Cheridyn Leverette were also named to the all-tournament team. Three UCLA players โ Ndiaye, Olson and Leverette โ recorded double-digit kills in each of UCLA's three matches at the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge last week.
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Ndiaye of the Tiger
With her 20.0 points versus Pepperdine on Sept. 7, Ndiaye has now recorded three of the four highest single-match point totals in her career this season. Entering this week, Ndiaye ranks top 10 in the Pac-12 in both total kills (8th - 111 K) and points (7th - 132.5 PTS). The Dallas, Texas native recorded the second 20-kill outing of her career in UCLA's season-opening match at LSU with 20 at a .444 clip on Aug. 25. She is the only Bruin on the active roster to have recorded a 20-kill performance. Her first such performance came last season versus Colorado on Oct. 2, 2022 when she racked a career-high 22 kills.
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All-Around Improvement
Ndiaye has been putting up stellar defensive and serving numbers so far this season. Entering the year, Ndiaye had been averaging 0.42 digs per set in her previous three seasons. Through eight matches in 2023, she has tripled that average with 1.39 digs per set and is just six digs away from surpassing her previous season high of 51 set last season. In UCLA's win over LSU on Aug. 26, Ndiaye bested her previous career-high in digs by four with 10. She went on to record the second-highest dig total of her career at Indiana on Sept. 1 with nine.
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This is Ndiaye's first season in the Bruins' serving rotation. Last week in Honolulu, she dealt two aces in each of UCLA's matches versus Liberty and Hawai'i. Ndiaye served back-to-back aces in set four versus the Rainbow Wahine last Sunday, Sept. 10 to help the Bruins to victory.
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Career Weekend for Olson
Olson had a monster week at the Outrigger Challenge which earned her all-tournament team acclaim. In UCLA's first match versus Pepperdine, Olson set career highs in total blocks (4.0) and solo blocks (2). The next day, Olson recorded a career-high .684 hitting percentage on 14 kills versus Liberty. And in the tournament finale at Hawai'i, she set career highs in kills (16) and points (17.5).
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Dueck Double-Double
Dueck earned the first double-double of her career and UCLA's first of the season versus Pepperdine with 22 digs and a career-high 12 assists. The 22 digs marked the most in her UCLA career. While competing at Cal Poly her freshman season in 2021, Dueck snuffed out 28 digs at Cal State Fullerton. The Aptos, Calif. native has led the Bruins in digs in seven of eight matches in 2023.
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Immediate Impact
Becker, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, leads the Pac-12 with 42.0 total blocks this season (six solo, 36 assisted). She set a career high in blocks earlier this year with nine at Long Beach State (two solo, seven assisted) to help UCLA to 19.0 total blocks in the match. Becker also makes the most of her hitting opportunities, swinging at an efficient .300 rate for 1.27 kills per set.
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First Ranked Win for Reft
Reft's victory over his alma mater No. 23 Hawai'i marked his first win over a ranked opponent as head coach. Reft competed for the Rainbow Warriors as a two-time AVCA All-American libero from 2004-06. He put up a 48-43 record versus ranked opponents in his previous eight seasons as an assistant coach.
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Paking a Punch
Setter Audrey Pak has been a big block so far this season for the Bruins. She bested her previous career high in blocks set at LSU earlier this year (four assisted) with five at Hawai'i last week (two solo, three assisted). Pak provided a defensive spark in the beginning of set two versus the Rainbow Wahine with a solo block and block assist to push UCLA out to an early 4-1 lead. The Moraga, Calif. native is up to 12.0 total blocks over 24 sets played in 2023, quadrupling her previous season high of 3.0 blocks over three sets in 2021.
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Big Time Bench Performances
Pak and opposite Kate Lane provided much needed boosts off the bench last week. Pak played a huge part in the Bruins' comeback, five-set victory over Pepperdine, going on a 9-0 run at the service line in set four with an ace along the way after UCLA had dropped sets two and three. Her impressive night continued into the fifth, assisting on five kills and recording a kill herself to clinch the victory. Lane also starred in the fifth set versus Pepperdine with a block and two kills on back-to-back UCLA points.
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Finding Her Groove
Dodson enters this week hitting a team-high .430 percentage and has eclipsed .350 in six of her seven matches this season. At Long Beach State on Sept. 2, she notched her best performance of the year with 12 kills for an errorless .600 hitting percentage to go along with seven total blocks (three solo, four assisted) for 18.0 points.
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A New Era in Westwood
Reft was hired in December 2022 as the fourth head coach in program history on Dec. 18, 2022. Reft came to UCLA after leading San Diego to its first-ever National Semifinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament in his third year as associate head coach. The Oxnard, Calif. native also brings Big Ten Conference experience to UCLA after serving as an assistant at the University of Illinois from 2018-19 and at the University of Minnesota from 2010-12. He accumulated a 68-32 conference record across both stints and reached the Final Four with the Fighting Illini in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
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UCLA's Schedule at a Glance
The Bruins' preseason schedule includes two opponents who were ranked in the top 50 of last season's final RPI (Hawai'i [41], LSU [49]) and three opponents who appeared in the 2022 NCAA Tournament (LSU, Pepperdine and Hawai'i). In total, UCLA will play 14 matches against nine teams who made last season's NCAA Tournament, including six from the Pac-12 Conference (Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, USC, Washington and Washington State).
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UCLA Picked Fifth
UCLA was picked to finish fifth in the annual Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll. UCLA is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Pac-12 a year ago with a 10-10 conference record. The Bruins' notable 2022 wins included a five-set comeback at then-RV Hawai'i in the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge on Sept. 4 and their lone victory over a ranked foe at then-No. 25 Washington State on Nov. 22.
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Dodson: Preseason All-Pac-12
Redshirt senior middle blocker Anna Dodson was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team for the first time in her career in 2023. Last season, Dodson was selected to the All-Pac-12 Team and AVCA Pacific South All-Region Honorable Mention after leading UCLA with a .330 hitting percentage on her 259 kills. Dodson achieved double-digit kills in 13 matches and ranked second on the team with 2.54 kills per set in her 27 starts and 102 sets played. She is UCLA's second-highest returning point scorer (259) behind outside hitter Iman Ndiaye.
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Dodson the Defender
Dodson has led the Bruins in blocks in each of the last two seasons with 109 in her Fall 2021 campaign and 77 in 2022. The last Bruin to lead the team in blocks in three consecutive years was Zoë Nightingale who paced UCLA across the 2012-14 seasons. The Fort Collins, Colo. native enters her fourth season in Westwood averaging 0.90 blocks per set across her career.
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Notes on Ndiaye
UCLA's top returning attacker is Iman Ndiaye who ranked second on the team with 269 kills and third with 307.0 total points in 2022. Ndiaye reached double-digit kills on 14 occasions in 2022, including a career-best performance with 22 kills at a .421 clip (22-6-38) versus Colorado on Oct. 2. She is the only active UCLA player to have a 10-block match in their career. The Plano West High School product (Dallas) was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention recipient last season. She was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Freshman Team in Spring 2021.
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What's New, Bru?
Reft welcomes a group of seven newcomers to his first-year squad. Joining the Bruins are transfers Desiree Becker (MB, Northwestern), Carly Hendrickson (OH, Florida) and Joy Umeh (OH, UC Irvine) and freshmen Brooklyn Briscoe (MB), Sydney Breon (DS/L), Ashley Mullen (S) and Kat Lutz (DS/L).
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High School All-American Mullen
The Bruins' most highly-touted incoming freshman is setter Ashley Mullen from Kansas City, Mo. (Liberty HS). She has started in four of UCLA's first five matches of the season. Mullen was an AVCA First Team High School All-American her senior year and was selected as an UnderArmour All-American to compete in the annual All-American game. Mullen was ranked as the No. 4 setter in the nation and 26th overall recruit by PrepVolleyball in 2022. One of 25 nominees for All-USA TODAY Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, Mullen amassed 3,457 career assists in high school, including 1,124 as a senior (10.10 AST/S).
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Notable Position Changes
Two returning players have made moves to different positions this season. Sophomore Mokihana Tufono has switched from setter to defensive specialist/libero and senior Kate Lane has moved from setter to opposite hitter.
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Dodson Selected to the USAV Collegiate Team
Two-time All-Pac-12 middle blocker Anna Dodson received national attention this offseason when she was named to the USA Volleyball 2023 Collegiate Women's National Team (CNT). From June 18-24 in Anaheim, Calif., Dodson trained alongside the Women's National Team Olympic Champions as the prepared for the Volleyball Nations League.
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Series History
UCLA and Oklahoma have met only once before on Dec. 8, 2006 in the Regional Semifinals of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament hosted by Hawai'i in Honolulu. In that match, Nana Meriwether registered 17 kills on an error-free 24 attacks for a .708 hitting percentage. This marks the first time UCLA will compete in the state of Oklahoma.
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Reft & Team USA
Head coach Alfee Reft also serves as a seasonal assistant for the USA Women's Volleyball National Team under legendary Bruin and UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly. In total, Reft has spent 12 years as both a player and coach on the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams. As a result of his Team USA responsibilities, Reft will miss seven matches this season: at Northwestern State (Aug. 28), vs. Indiana (Sept. 1), at Long Beach State (Sept. 2), at Oklahoma (Sept. 15 and 16), vs. USC (Sept. 20) and vs. Oregon (Sept. 24).
Reft's Official Statement: "As our team gears up for a strong start to the season, I'd like to share that I will be missing seven matches so that I can fulfill my pre-existing coaching commitments with Team USA at the NORCECA Continental Championships and Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier. My heart will be with our Bruin team while away and I have complete confidence in my entire staff (associate head coach Jen Malcom and assistant coaches Amir Lugo-Rodriguez and Noah Casaquit) to carry out the vision and direction our program is moving in during this very exciting period of our season."
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Big Ten Bound in 2024-25
UCLA Athletics announced its decision to join the Big Ten Conference on June 30, 2022. This move will go into effect at the start of the 2024-25 season. In doing so, the Bruins will be joining the preeminent volleyball conference in the country with five of the last 10 NCAA Women's Volleyball champions coming from the Big Ten. Joining UCLA in this move are USC, Washington and Oregon. UCLA and USC have combined for seven NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships. UCLA won 10 conference championships while in the Pac-12, all coming under Hall of Fame Coach Andy Banachowski. Overall, the Bruins have played in 38 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournaments which ranks fourth among all programs behind only Penn State, Stanford and Nebraska. In addition, UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Final Four 12 times and has posted a record of 94-35 in the NCAA Tournament.
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Glad for Grads
Two Bruins on this year's 2023 roster have earned undergraduate degrees. In Spring 2023, Anna Dodson added two bachelor degrees to her résumé in sociology and gender studies. She now is working toward her master's degree in John Wooden's Transformative Coaching and Leadership (education major). Transfer Desiree Becker earned her bachelor of arts in history from Northwestern in 2023. She is now pursuing a master's degree in legal studies with the career objective of becoming an entertainment lawyer.
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Both contests can be streamed on ESPN+.
ย
UCLA (7-1) at Oklahoma (5-2)
Date: Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 โ 3 p.m. (PT)
Location: Norman, Okla. (McCasland Field House)
Television: ESPN+
Talent: Chad McKee (play by play), Kelly Files (analyst)
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
ย
UCLA (7-1) at Oklahoma (5-2)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 16, 2023 โ 12 p.m. (PT)
Location: Norman, Okla. (McCasland Field House)
Television: ESPN+
Talent: Chad McKee (play by play), Kelly Files (analyst)
Live Stats: uclalivestats.com
ย
Quick Hits
ยท Outside hitter Iman Ndiaye leads UCLA in kills (111), kills per set (3.36), points (132.5) and points per set (4.02).
ยท Middle blocker Desiree Becker ranks first in the Pac-12 Conference in blocks (42) and seventh in blocks per set (1.27).
ยท Middle blocker Anna Dodson owns a team-high .430 hitting percentage and ranks fourth on the squad with 2.93 points per set.
ยท Libero Peyton Dueck stars in the Bruins' back row with 120 digs, ranking third in the Pac-12 in that category.
ยท Head coach Alfee Reft has rotated between Ashley Mullen and Audrey Pak at the setter position so far this preseason.
ยท The Bruins' 2023 roster consists of seven newcomers (four freshmen, three transfers), including four who see consistent playing time: starting middle blocker Desiree Becker (Northwestern), outside hitter Carly Hendrickson (Florida), Mullen (Liberty HS) and defensive specialist Kat Lutz (Torrey Pines HS).
ย
Strong Start
Following a perfect 3-0 weekend at the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge, Reft has his first-year group riding a seven-match winning streak heading into Norman. That mark is tied for UCLA's third-longest winning streak over the last 13 years. The Bruins last won seven straight matches in the Fall 2021 campaign under former head coach Michael Sealy (2010-22). UCLA's most recent eight-match winning streaks came in the 2015 and 2010 seasons, which were the longest of Sealy's coaching career. The Bruins have the opportunity to win nine consecutive matches this weekend for the first time since 2008. With two more wins, UCLA will total nine preseason victories which would be tied for the second most over the last 20 seasons. UCLA had 10 preseason wins in 2014 and nine in 2016, 2015 and 2013.
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Outrigger Challenge Champs
UCLA claimed the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge crown for the second year in a row last week, going 3-0 with victories over Pepperdine, Liberty and then-No. 23 Hawai'i. Ndiaye was named the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge Most Valuable Player after totaling a team-high 49.5 points and 42 kills (3.50 KPS) at a .347 hitting percentage in the three matches. Grayce Olson and Cheridyn Leverette were also named to the all-tournament team. Three UCLA players โ Ndiaye, Olson and Leverette โ recorded double-digit kills in each of UCLA's three matches at the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge last week.
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Ndiaye of the Tiger
With her 20.0 points versus Pepperdine on Sept. 7, Ndiaye has now recorded three of the four highest single-match point totals in her career this season. Entering this week, Ndiaye ranks top 10 in the Pac-12 in both total kills (8th - 111 K) and points (7th - 132.5 PTS). The Dallas, Texas native recorded the second 20-kill outing of her career in UCLA's season-opening match at LSU with 20 at a .444 clip on Aug. 25. She is the only Bruin on the active roster to have recorded a 20-kill performance. Her first such performance came last season versus Colorado on Oct. 2, 2022 when she racked a career-high 22 kills.
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All-Around Improvement
Ndiaye has been putting up stellar defensive and serving numbers so far this season. Entering the year, Ndiaye had been averaging 0.42 digs per set in her previous three seasons. Through eight matches in 2023, she has tripled that average with 1.39 digs per set and is just six digs away from surpassing her previous season high of 51 set last season. In UCLA's win over LSU on Aug. 26, Ndiaye bested her previous career-high in digs by four with 10. She went on to record the second-highest dig total of her career at Indiana on Sept. 1 with nine.
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This is Ndiaye's first season in the Bruins' serving rotation. Last week in Honolulu, she dealt two aces in each of UCLA's matches versus Liberty and Hawai'i. Ndiaye served back-to-back aces in set four versus the Rainbow Wahine last Sunday, Sept. 10 to help the Bruins to victory.
ย
Career Weekend for Olson
Olson had a monster week at the Outrigger Challenge which earned her all-tournament team acclaim. In UCLA's first match versus Pepperdine, Olson set career highs in total blocks (4.0) and solo blocks (2). The next day, Olson recorded a career-high .684 hitting percentage on 14 kills versus Liberty. And in the tournament finale at Hawai'i, she set career highs in kills (16) and points (17.5).
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Dueck Double-Double
Dueck earned the first double-double of her career and UCLA's first of the season versus Pepperdine with 22 digs and a career-high 12 assists. The 22 digs marked the most in her UCLA career. While competing at Cal Poly her freshman season in 2021, Dueck snuffed out 28 digs at Cal State Fullerton. The Aptos, Calif. native has led the Bruins in digs in seven of eight matches in 2023.
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Immediate Impact
Becker, a graduate transfer from Northwestern, leads the Pac-12 with 42.0 total blocks this season (six solo, 36 assisted). She set a career high in blocks earlier this year with nine at Long Beach State (two solo, seven assisted) to help UCLA to 19.0 total blocks in the match. Becker also makes the most of her hitting opportunities, swinging at an efficient .300 rate for 1.27 kills per set.
ย
First Ranked Win for Reft
Reft's victory over his alma mater No. 23 Hawai'i marked his first win over a ranked opponent as head coach. Reft competed for the Rainbow Warriors as a two-time AVCA All-American libero from 2004-06. He put up a 48-43 record versus ranked opponents in his previous eight seasons as an assistant coach.
ย
Paking a Punch
Setter Audrey Pak has been a big block so far this season for the Bruins. She bested her previous career high in blocks set at LSU earlier this year (four assisted) with five at Hawai'i last week (two solo, three assisted). Pak provided a defensive spark in the beginning of set two versus the Rainbow Wahine with a solo block and block assist to push UCLA out to an early 4-1 lead. The Moraga, Calif. native is up to 12.0 total blocks over 24 sets played in 2023, quadrupling her previous season high of 3.0 blocks over three sets in 2021.
ย
Big Time Bench Performances
Pak and opposite Kate Lane provided much needed boosts off the bench last week. Pak played a huge part in the Bruins' comeback, five-set victory over Pepperdine, going on a 9-0 run at the service line in set four with an ace along the way after UCLA had dropped sets two and three. Her impressive night continued into the fifth, assisting on five kills and recording a kill herself to clinch the victory. Lane also starred in the fifth set versus Pepperdine with a block and two kills on back-to-back UCLA points.
ย
Finding Her Groove
Dodson enters this week hitting a team-high .430 percentage and has eclipsed .350 in six of her seven matches this season. At Long Beach State on Sept. 2, she notched her best performance of the year with 12 kills for an errorless .600 hitting percentage to go along with seven total blocks (three solo, four assisted) for 18.0 points.
ย
A New Era in Westwood
Reft was hired in December 2022 as the fourth head coach in program history on Dec. 18, 2022. Reft came to UCLA after leading San Diego to its first-ever National Semifinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament in his third year as associate head coach. The Oxnard, Calif. native also brings Big Ten Conference experience to UCLA after serving as an assistant at the University of Illinois from 2018-19 and at the University of Minnesota from 2010-12. He accumulated a 68-32 conference record across both stints and reached the Final Four with the Fighting Illini in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
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UCLA's Schedule at a Glance
The Bruins' preseason schedule includes two opponents who were ranked in the top 50 of last season's final RPI (Hawai'i [41], LSU [49]) and three opponents who appeared in the 2022 NCAA Tournament (LSU, Pepperdine and Hawai'i). In total, UCLA will play 14 matches against nine teams who made last season's NCAA Tournament, including six from the Pac-12 Conference (Colorado, Oregon, Stanford, USC, Washington and Washington State).
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UCLA Picked Fifth
UCLA was picked to finish fifth in the annual Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll. UCLA is coming off a seventh-place finish in the Pac-12 a year ago with a 10-10 conference record. The Bruins' notable 2022 wins included a five-set comeback at then-RV Hawai'i in the Outrigger Volleyball Challenge on Sept. 4 and their lone victory over a ranked foe at then-No. 25 Washington State on Nov. 22.
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Dodson: Preseason All-Pac-12
Redshirt senior middle blocker Anna Dodson was named to the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team for the first time in her career in 2023. Last season, Dodson was selected to the All-Pac-12 Team and AVCA Pacific South All-Region Honorable Mention after leading UCLA with a .330 hitting percentage on her 259 kills. Dodson achieved double-digit kills in 13 matches and ranked second on the team with 2.54 kills per set in her 27 starts and 102 sets played. She is UCLA's second-highest returning point scorer (259) behind outside hitter Iman Ndiaye.
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Dodson the Defender
Dodson has led the Bruins in blocks in each of the last two seasons with 109 in her Fall 2021 campaign and 77 in 2022. The last Bruin to lead the team in blocks in three consecutive years was Zoë Nightingale who paced UCLA across the 2012-14 seasons. The Fort Collins, Colo. native enters her fourth season in Westwood averaging 0.90 blocks per set across her career.
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Notes on Ndiaye
UCLA's top returning attacker is Iman Ndiaye who ranked second on the team with 269 kills and third with 307.0 total points in 2022. Ndiaye reached double-digit kills on 14 occasions in 2022, including a career-best performance with 22 kills at a .421 clip (22-6-38) versus Colorado on Oct. 2. She is the only active UCLA player to have a 10-block match in their career. The Plano West High School product (Dallas) was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention recipient last season. She was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and All-Freshman Team in Spring 2021.
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What's New, Bru?
Reft welcomes a group of seven newcomers to his first-year squad. Joining the Bruins are transfers Desiree Becker (MB, Northwestern), Carly Hendrickson (OH, Florida) and Joy Umeh (OH, UC Irvine) and freshmen Brooklyn Briscoe (MB), Sydney Breon (DS/L), Ashley Mullen (S) and Kat Lutz (DS/L).
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High School All-American Mullen
The Bruins' most highly-touted incoming freshman is setter Ashley Mullen from Kansas City, Mo. (Liberty HS). She has started in four of UCLA's first five matches of the season. Mullen was an AVCA First Team High School All-American her senior year and was selected as an UnderArmour All-American to compete in the annual All-American game. Mullen was ranked as the No. 4 setter in the nation and 26th overall recruit by PrepVolleyball in 2022. One of 25 nominees for All-USA TODAY Girls Volleyball Player of the Year, Mullen amassed 3,457 career assists in high school, including 1,124 as a senior (10.10 AST/S).
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Notable Position Changes
Two returning players have made moves to different positions this season. Sophomore Mokihana Tufono has switched from setter to defensive specialist/libero and senior Kate Lane has moved from setter to opposite hitter.
ย
Dodson Selected to the USAV Collegiate Team
Two-time All-Pac-12 middle blocker Anna Dodson received national attention this offseason when she was named to the USA Volleyball 2023 Collegiate Women's National Team (CNT). From June 18-24 in Anaheim, Calif., Dodson trained alongside the Women's National Team Olympic Champions as the prepared for the Volleyball Nations League.
ย
Series History
UCLA and Oklahoma have met only once before on Dec. 8, 2006 in the Regional Semifinals of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament hosted by Hawai'i in Honolulu. In that match, Nana Meriwether registered 17 kills on an error-free 24 attacks for a .708 hitting percentage. This marks the first time UCLA will compete in the state of Oklahoma.
ย
Reft & Team USA
Head coach Alfee Reft also serves as a seasonal assistant for the USA Women's Volleyball National Team under legendary Bruin and UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Karch Kiraly. In total, Reft has spent 12 years as both a player and coach on the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams. As a result of his Team USA responsibilities, Reft will miss seven matches this season: at Northwestern State (Aug. 28), vs. Indiana (Sept. 1), at Long Beach State (Sept. 2), at Oklahoma (Sept. 15 and 16), vs. USC (Sept. 20) and vs. Oregon (Sept. 24).
Reft's Official Statement: "As our team gears up for a strong start to the season, I'd like to share that I will be missing seven matches so that I can fulfill my pre-existing coaching commitments with Team USA at the NORCECA Continental Championships and Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifier. My heart will be with our Bruin team while away and I have complete confidence in my entire staff (associate head coach Jen Malcom and assistant coaches Amir Lugo-Rodriguez and Noah Casaquit) to carry out the vision and direction our program is moving in during this very exciting period of our season."
ย
Big Ten Bound in 2024-25
UCLA Athletics announced its decision to join the Big Ten Conference on June 30, 2022. This move will go into effect at the start of the 2024-25 season. In doing so, the Bruins will be joining the preeminent volleyball conference in the country with five of the last 10 NCAA Women's Volleyball champions coming from the Big Ten. Joining UCLA in this move are USC, Washington and Oregon. UCLA and USC have combined for seven NCAA Women's Volleyball Championships. UCLA won 10 conference championships while in the Pac-12, all coming under Hall of Fame Coach Andy Banachowski. Overall, the Bruins have played in 38 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournaments which ranks fourth among all programs behind only Penn State, Stanford and Nebraska. In addition, UCLA has advanced to the NCAA Final Four 12 times and has posted a record of 94-35 in the NCAA Tournament.
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Glad for Grads
Two Bruins on this year's 2023 roster have earned undergraduate degrees. In Spring 2023, Anna Dodson added two bachelor degrees to her résumé in sociology and gender studies. She now is working toward her master's degree in John Wooden's Transformative Coaching and Leadership (education major). Transfer Desiree Becker earned her bachelor of arts in history from Northwestern in 2023. She is now pursuing a master's degree in legal studies with the career objective of becoming an entertainment lawyer.
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Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
L
/ Women's Volleyball
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