LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women's volleyball team is coming off a pair of impressive victories on opening weekend, earning its first 2-0 start since the 2021 season. The Bruins will look to continue its success when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn. to face another ranked opponent, No. 17 Tennessee, on Thursday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. (PT) before capping the weekend against Long Island University on Sept. 7 at 9 a.m. (PT). UCLA's contest versus Tennessee will be available for viewing on SEC Network.
LOOKING BACK ON AN INSTANT CLASSIC
UCLA earned a statement victory to open its 2024 season, snatching a decisive fifth set 16-14 to down No. 14 Georgia Tech inside a packed O'Keefe Gymnasium. Finishing the 2023 season with a record of 12-5 on the road, the Bruins continued their impressive form away from Westwood by prevailing in a back-and-forth fifth set. The Yellow Jackets fought off a match point before UCLA turned to its three-time All-Pac 12 honoree, Anna Dodson, to deliver the go-ahead kill to give her team a one-point advantage. A bad set from Georgia Tech sealed the victory for head coach Alfee Reft and his squad.
FRESHMEN FLOURISH IN OPENING WEEKEND
Four freshmen made their UCLA debuts over the weekend, with all making significant contributions in the perfect 2-0 start. Kiki Horne finished with the team-high in kills for both matches, racking up 12 in the five-set win over No. 14 Georgia and posting 11 more Sunday's sweep over Coastal Carolina. Anastasija Ivkovic made an impact with seven kills at an efficient .429 clip in the series opener. Brooklyn Briscoe was impressive at the middle blocker spot, recording five total blocks and eight kills across the two matches. The San Diego, Calif. native shined in the win over Coastal Carolina, hitting .455 with six kills. Kate Duffey also saw action at the setter position, handing out eight assists.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION
UCLA was ranked 25th in the first AVCA regular season coaches poll after enjoying a perfect 2-0 start to the season. 2023 marked the first season in program history in which UCLA did not appear in an AVCA poll. The Bruins have been ranked in 556 weeks which ranks fifth among all programs behind only Nebraska (620), Stanford (612), Penn State and Texas (570). Additionally, the Bruins have been ranked inside the top 10 in 342 of those 555 weeks, last appearing in 2018. UCLA has been ranked No. 1 in 56 weekly polls which is fourth among all programs behind Nebraska (108), Penn State (97) and Stanford (78).
SERIES HISTORY
UCLA will meet Tennessee for the first time on Thursday. The Lady Volunteers competed in the UCLA National Invitational Volleyball Tournament in 1982, but did not matchup against the Bruins. UCLA has a perfect 4-0 record against LIU, with the last meeting coming in December of 2014. The Bruins have not dropped a single set, sweeping all four of the all-time matchups. The teams have competed in Westwood twice (2012, Dec. 2014) and twice on a neutral court (2006, Aug. 2014).
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
Senior libero Peyton Dueck is just two digs shy of 1,000 for her career. The Aptos, Calif. native racked up 467 digs during her one season at Cal Poly and has added 531 to her tally at UCLA. Dueck registered 17 digs and eight assists in the season-opening win over No. 14 Georgia Tech and posted 24 digs across the two contests.
UCLA OFFICIALLY JOINS THE BIG TEN CONFERENCE
UCLA officially joined the Big Ten Conference Aug. 2, ushering in a new era in the Bruins' storied and illustrious athletic tradition. UCLA, along with previous conference foes Oregon, USC and Washington, have moved to an 18-team Big Ten Conference with a footprint spanning from the Pacific to the Atlantic. UCLA's approaching membership in the Big Ten Conference was initially announced more than two years ago, on June 30, 2022.
"The day has finally come," said Martin Jarmond, The Alice and Nahum Lainer Family Director of Athletics. "After two years of planning and preparation, UCLA is proud and excited to join the Big Ten Conference. I am grateful for the energy and effort that has been put into shaping this pivotal move by our hard-working staff members, as well as our coaches and student-athletes. The investments we have made into our programs and student-athletes over the past 24 months have set us up to continue to compete at the elite level that defines UCLA Athletics."
UCLA PICKED EIGHTH
UCLA was picked to finish eighth out of 18 teams in its first-ever Big Ten Volleyball Preseason Poll, it was announced by the conference office Aug. 1. The Bruins were slotted to finish behind fellow conference newcomers Oregon (6th) and USC (7th). UCLA is coming off a sixth-place finish in the Pac-12 a year ago after a second straight season with a 10-10 conference record. In its history, UCLA has won 10 conference crowns with seven coming as a member of the Pac-12 Conference, two as a member of the Western Collegiate Athletic Association (WCAA) and one as a member of the Southern California Women's Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCWIAC). The Bruins' last conference championship was in 1999 when they posted a 17-1 record.
DODSON PRESEASON ALL-BIG-TEN
Graduate Anna Dodson was one of three middle blockers to be named to the 18-member Big Ten Volleyball Preseason All-Conference Team. Dodson received the first AVCA All-American recognition of her career in 2023, being named honorable mention. The Bruins' star middle blocker was also named to the All-Pac-12 Team for the third time in her career. Dodson recorded 322.0 points (3.04 PPS) off 233 kills and 131 blocks (1.24 BPS). She led UCLA and ranked third in the Pac-12 with a .374 hitting percentage.
WHAT'S NEW, BRU?
Reft welcomes a group of seven newcomers to his second-year squad. Joining the Bruins are graduate transfers Leilani Dodson (MH, Northwestern), Kate Reilly (DS/L, Stanford) and Sofia Victoria (OH, Florida) and freshmen Kate Duffey (Ventura, Calif.), Kiki Horne (Raleigh, N.C.), Zoë Humphrey (Houston, Texas) and Anastasija Ivkovic (Belgrade, Serbia).
Notes on the Transfers
• Leilani Dodson is the second former Northwestern middle blocker to make her way to Westwood, following in the footsteps of Desiree Becker who started every match for the Bruins a year ago. The pair of Dodson and Becker played together and were coached by current UCLA associate head coach Amir Lugo-Rodriguez. In her three-year Wildcat career, Dodson averaged 1.91 kills per set and 0.85 blocks per set while recording a .300+ hitting percentage in each season of competition (92 matches, 350 sets). Prior to Northwestern, Dodson was named to the West Coast Conference (WCC) All-Freshman Team in her lone season at BYU in Spring 2021.
• Sofia Victoria was a starter on two NCAA Tournament squads at Florida in 2022 and 2023. She averaged 2.56 kills per set for a .210 hitting percentage over her four-year career for the Gators (91 matches, 228 sets). Victoria was named AVCA Southeast All-Region Honorable Mention in her junior 2022 season after ranking third on the team with 286 kills (.223%) and sixth with 35 blocks. The Puerto Rican helped Florida win the SEC Championship and earned a spot in the Sweet 16 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
• Kate Reilly enjoyed a stellar beach career at Stanford where she earned her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mechanical Engineering. She finished her four-year Cardinal career as the winningest player in program history with an individual 97-45 record following a 29-5 mark her senior year. The 29 wins were the most on the Stanford squad in Spring 2024. In her sophom*ore 2022 season, Reilly was awarded AVCA Collegiate Beach Second Team All-American and All-Pac-12 Second Team honors after logging a 24-10 record for the fewest losses of any 2022 Cardinal team member playing 20-plus matches.
