No. 2 UCLA Hosts Battle for LA Friday, Saturday

Friday, February 27

Los Angeles, Calif.

10:00 AM (PT)

UCLA

Boise State

Kaley Mathews

Photo by: Han Q Duong

No. 2 UCLA Hosts Battle for LA Friday, Saturday

February 26, 2026 | Beach Volleyball

No. 2 UCLA (3-2) hosts Boise State (3-1), No. 3 Cal Poly (4-0), No. 11 Long Beach State (2-0) and Pepperdine (1-3) in the Battle for LA at Mapes Beach Feb. 27-28. The tournament is UCLA's home opener and begins on Friday, Feb. 27 with UCLA vs. Boise State at 10am. Boise State will play Cal Poly at 12pm, followed by UCLA vs. Cal Poly at 2pm. The tournament continues on Saturday, Feb. 28 with UCLA vs. Long Beach State at 10am, Long Beach State vs. Pepperdine at 12pm and UCLA vs. Pepperdine at 2pm. Admission is free.

Live scores will be provided throughout the tournament on Statbroadcast. Direct links to the Bruin matches are available on the schedule page at UCLABruins.com.

THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
Opponent: Boise State| LIVE STATS
Location: Mapes Beach | Los Angeles, Calif.
Date: Friday, Feb. 27
Time: 10 a.m. PT
Series History: No prior matchups.

Opponent: No. 3 Cal Poly | LIVE STATS
Location: Mapes Beach | Los Angeles, Calif.
Date: Friday, Feb. 27
Time: 2 p.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 15-1 | Streak: Lost 1
Last Meeting: L 2-3 (April 4, 2025 – Best in the West @ Laguna Beach, Calif.)

Opponent: No. 11 Long Beach State | LIVE STATS
Location: Mapes Beach | Los Angeles, Calif.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 28
Time: 10:00 a.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 13-4 | Streak: Won 13
Last Meeting: W 5-0 (Feb. 28, 2025 – Battle for LA @ Mapes Beach)

Opponent: Pepperdine | LIVE STATS
Location: Mapes Beach | Los Angeles, Calif.
Date: Saturday, Feb. 28
Time: 2:00 p.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 14-6 | Streak: Won 11
Last Meeting: W 14-1 (Mar. 1, 2025 – Battle for LA – Mapes Beach – Los Angeles, Calif.)

LAST TIME OUT
UCLA finished 3-2 at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii Feb. 20-22, with wins against No. 6 Texas, No. 7 LMU, and No. 4 USC and 3-2 losses against No. 16 Hawai'i and No. 2 Stanford. No. 4 pair Harper Cooper and Ava Williamson went undefeated on the weekend, finishing 5-0. No. 1 duo Maggie Boyd and Sally Perez finished with a 4-1 record throughout the weekend, matching No. 3 pair Ensley Alden and Kaley Mathews' 4-1 mark. Sophomore Alexa Fernandez was honored with the tournament's Aloha Spirit Award.

BOYD NEARS CENTURY MARK
With 96 career victories, senior Maggie Boyd is just four wins away from becoming the 11^th Bruin to reach the century mark. She currently ranks No. 13 all-time.

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. Devon Newberry (2019-24) - 103
10. Elise Zappia (2015-18) - 102
11. Peri Brennan (2021-25), Natalie Myszkowski (2022-25) - 99
13. Maggie Boyd (2023-25) - 96

RETURNING STARTERS
The Bruins return seven of 10 starters from last year's team that advanced to the NCAA semifinals and finished with an overall record of 32-7. The 2025 MPSF Pair of the Year – Maggie Boyd and Sally Perez – are back after posting a 31-4 record together last season. They are both on the AVCA Beach Player of the Year Watch List. Boyd holds a career record of 96-18, while Perez is 35-5 in her brief career, all on court one with Boyd. Also returning are Kenzie Brower (26-11 in 2025, 52-26 career) from court three, Alexa Fernandez (21-18 career) and Kaley Mathews (22-11 career) from court four, and Harper Cooper (27-9 career) and Ensley Alden (21-11 in 2025, 54-18 career) from court five.

The Bruins lost the services of court two pair Peri Brennan and Natalie Myszkowski, along with Jessie Smith, who paired with Brower on court three at the NCAA Championships.

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 Olivia Le Blanc, Mallory LaBreche and Alina Ryan. Williamson and LaBreche played in all five matches over the weekend. Williamson went 5-0 with Harper Cooper on court 4, and LaBreche went 2-2, winning on court 5 with Adelina Okazaki against Texas and with Taylor Ford against LMU. LaBreche also paired with fellow freshman Jesse Dueck against USC. 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 70-16 (.814) 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 moves to No. 2 after losses to then No. 16 Hawai'i and No. 2 Stanford at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic.

PRESEASON NO. 1
UCLA opened the year ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball Preseason Poll after finishing the 2025 season No. 3. Since 2018, no team has been ranked No. 1 for more weeks than the Bruins (43). USC has spent 27 weeks at No. 1 in the last seven years while TCU (10), Pepperdine (4), LSU (4), 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 (43), Pepperdine (17), TCU (10), LSU (4), Stanford (1). Hawai'i (1), and Florida State (1).

LOOKING AHEAD
UCLA hosts the MPSF Midseason Rumble March 6 and 7 at Mapes Beach. The Bruins play Grand Canyon and Washington on Day One and Oregon and Stanford on Day Two.