Beach volleyball defeats Florida State, gains program’s first NCAA title

In 2007, Stein Metzger and his partner battled through eight-straight matches in the elimination bracket to win the Association of Volleyball Professionals beach volleyball title. Fast forward 11 years – Metzger has now done it as a coach. “In fact, (volunteer assistant) coach (Jeff) Alzina and I were talking about it, and I said that […]

Beach volleyball defeats Hawai’i, advances to NCAA championship dual

The band played its fight song. The players sang along. For the first time in program history, the Bruins will play for a national title. No. 1-seeded UCLA beach volleyball (39-4) survived No. 3-seeded Hawaii (37-5) with a 3-2 victory to advance to the NCAA championship dual. On court three, sophomore Savvy Simo and junior […]

Beach volleyball leaps closer to NCAA championship title with victory over USC

The Bruins’ senior captain kept their season alive – except she didn’t even know it. Elise Zappia floated a cut shot over USC’s blocker to clinch the dual for the Bruins. But the senior told her teammates she thought the victory was just to take a 2-1 lead. No. 1-seeded UCLA beach volleyball (38-4) battled […]

Beach volleyball falls to Florida State in NCAAs, enters elimination bracket

Last season, the Seminoles knocked the Bruins out in the NCAA championship for the second straight year. That same script played out again. No. 1-seeded UCLA beach volleyball (36-4) fell to No. 4-seeded Florida State (32-6) 3-1 in the second round of the NCAA championship, but the Bruins’ chances at a national title are still […]

Top-seeded beach volleyball prepares for NCAA championship

Extra workouts aren’t how teams usually celebrate a conference title, but that’s what the Bruins did. Members of the team held plank poses with their elbows on the sand and their Pac-12 trophies laid flat on their backs – the school’s 116th national title on their minds. “The team has been waiting all year for […]

Beach volleyball crowned Pac-12 champion, looks ahead to NCAAs

One title down, one more to go. “We’re very excited that we won this Pac-12 title,” said senior Elise Zappia. “But we’re not here to win a Pac-12 title, we’re here for a national championship.” No. 1-seeded UCLA beach volleyball (35-3) defeated No. 2-seeded USC (24-12) 3-1 to claim the program’s first-ever Pac-12 championship Saturday […]

Beach volleyball advances to Pac-12 final, extends win streak to 29

After their straight-set victory, Savvy Simo and Madi Yeomans sprinted to watch courts one and two. Because that’s what it came down to. No. 1-seeded UCLA beach volleyball (34-3) took a 2-1 lead over No. 2-seeded USC (24-11) after the sophomore duo’s win, needing a third-set comeback from either court one or two. That’s exactly […]