Thursday, October 2
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM (PT)

UCLA

8-5,2-1Big Ten

2
vs
3

No. 13 Purdue

11-2,2-1Big Ten

1
2
3
4
5
F
Purdue
17
22
29
25
15
3
UCLA
25
25
27
23
11
2
Eliana Urzua (Oct. 2)
Eliana Urzua
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub

Bruins Drop Home Opener to Boilermakers in Five-Set Battle

October 02, 2025 | Women's Volleyball

LOS ANGELES โ€“ย The No. 24-ranked UCLA women's volleyball team suffered a five-set defeat to No. 13 Purdue on Thursday night inside Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial.
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Set scores were 25-17, 25-22, 27-29, 23-25, 11-15.
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UCLA (8-5, 2-1 Big Ten) saw its home-opener spoiled despite taking the first two sets of the contest. The turning point came late in set three, where the Bruins held four match points, but were unable to deliver the finishing blow. Purdue (11-2, 2-1 Big Ten) seized the opportunity, stealing the deuce set and riding that momentum through the fourth and fifth to complete an improbable reverse sweep.
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Setter Kate Duffey turned in a fantastic performance with a career-high 62 assists. She tallied her third double-double of the season after collecting 11 digs.
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Freshman Eliana Urzua powered the Bruins' offense with a career-high 22 kills on an impressive .302 hitting percentage, adding 11 digs to secure a double-double.ย 
Cheridyn Leverette followed with 17 kills of her own, while middle blockers Marianna Singletary and Brooklyn Briscoe chipped in with 11 and 10 kills, respectively, to round out UCLA's attack.
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The Boilermakers were led Kenna Wollard's 33-kill effort (.369).
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UCLA came out firing in the opening set, establishing early momentum with aggressive swings from Briscoe and Leverette. Singletary's pair of blocks helped stretch the lead to 9-5, forcing Purdue to burn a timeout. Urzua's back-to-back kills widened the gap to 14-7, and the Bruins' middle blockers continued to dominate, with Briscoe and Singletary each adding two more kills to push the lead to 20-14. Two emphatic blocks sealed the set at 25-17, as UCLA hit an impressive .351 while stifling Purdue to just .094.
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Urzua sparked UCLA again with consecutive kills, but Purdue briefly took control with a 10-8 lead. The Bruins responded with a 3-0 run powered by Briscoe and Urzua to reclaim the advantage. Purdue surged ahead 17-14, but Leverette's clutch kills and Urzua's crafty tip tied the set at 19. Briscoe and Leverette delivered in crunch time, with Leverette's cross-court blast giving UCLA a 23-22 edge. A final 3-0 run capped the comeback, securing a 25-22 win and a 2-0 match lead.
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Leverette opened the third set with a kill and ace, helping UCLA to a 4-1 lead. Purdue clawed back with a 4-0 run to tie it at 8-8. The teams traded blows until the Boilermakers edged ahead 19-16. The Bruins answered with a 4-0 burst, highlighted by Singletary's kill and Duffey's ace, tying it at 20. The set turned into a thriller, with both teams exchanging set points from 24-24 onward. Despite four match points for UCLA, Purdue held firm and stole the set 29-27 to stay alive.
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Purdue jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but the Bruins responded with a 3-0 run featuring Leverette's back-to-back kills to tie it at 6. Purdue countered with two scoring runs to build a 13-7 cushion. UCLA fought back behind Kat Lutz's serving and Briscoe's kill to close the gap to 15-13, but the visitors surged again, winning six of the next seven points to go up 21-14. UCLA made one last push to cut the deficit to one, but a service error at set point allowed Purdue to even the match.
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In the decisive fifth set, Purdue grabbed a 4-1 lead, but UCLA stayed close thanks to a Lutz ace and Urzua kill. Leverette tied it at 5-5, and a block from Leverette and Singletary gave UCLA a brief 7-6 lead. The Boilermakers led 8-7 at the switch and extended it to 9-7, prompting aย timeout from the home bench. Urzua's kill stopped the bleeding, but Purdue's earlier 4-0 run proved decisive as they closed out the set 15-11, completing a dramatic reverse sweep.
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UCLA remains at home to take on Indiana on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. (PT). The contest will be available for viewing on B1G+.
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Next Event

Indiana

Oct 4 (Sat)

7:00 PM (PT)
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0Hours
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Team Stats

Purdue
UCLA
Kills
64
68
Errors
26
29
Attempts
161
176
Hitting %
.236
.222
Points
77.0
81.5
Assists
59
67
Aces
2
5
Blocks
11
8.5

Game Leaders

Kills
22
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
17
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
7
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
1

Players Mentioned

MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
DS/L
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
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