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Beach volleyball defeats Pepperdine twice following 2-week break from competition

The only winning Bruin pair in the first match to drop their first set, junior Megan Muret and her partner graduate student Jacqueline Quade took down their opponents in straight sets in the second dual. (Christine Kao/Daily Bruin staff)

Beach Volleyball


No. 4 UCLA4
No. 7 Pepperdine1
No. 4 UCLA5
No. 7 Pepperdine0

By Paul Diamantopoulos

March 26, 2021 11:57 a.m.

The Bruins got familiar results in unfamiliar circumstances in their first match in two weeks.

No. 4 UCLA beach volleyball (8-1, 3-0 Pac 12) defeated No. 7 Pepperdine (2-9) in consecutive meetings Thursday by scores of 4-1 and 5-0. The Bruins matched up with the Waves for the third and fourth time in a row, this time at newly constructed courts on Pepperdine’s campus.

Splitting even with the Waves in the first match of the day, junior Megan Muret and graduate student Jacqueline Quade came from a set down to win on court four, while sophomore Abby Van Winkle and junior Lea Monkhouse fell in three sets on court two.

The remaining courts secured straight-set wins, with freshman Rileigh Powers and redshirt freshman Jaden Whitmarsh clinching the 4-1 victory on court five by scores of 21-13 and 21-12.

Coach Stein Metzger said he was initially concerned to play at Pepperdine’s new location, as it takes a period of time for the team to get adjusted.

“(The Waves) were going to make adjustments from the last time we had played, so the challenge would be countering these adjustments on the fly,” said the two-time national champion coach.

Flipping the script on court two with a close third-set victory, Van Winkle and Monkhouse secured a sweep for UCLA during the second match of the day.

“We were more aggressive on our serving,” Van Winkle said. “Our side-out was way better and we changed who we were serving to, so that was what allowed us to turn it around in the second game.”

The court two duo won by scores of 19-21, 21-18 and 20-18, while Muret and Quade won in straight sets on court four, setting up freshman Lexy Denaburg and graduate student Savvy Simo to clinch the match on court one, registering scores of 21-7 and 21-11.

The Bruins won their matches on the remaining courts in straight sets as well, which Metzger attributed to his team’s preparation during the two-week break in between matches.

“Typically we come out of finals week not playing well, rusty and tired, but they had a great week of practice,” Metzger said. “They’re playing their best volleyball right now.”

UCLA next travels to Tucson for the Pac-12 South Tournament, where it will face No. 11 California, Oregon and Arizona State at Bear Down Beach this weekend.

Metzger said the tournament is a great opportunity for the Bruins to jump back into a lot of matchplay after their recent break.

“We want to be as good or better at the pass and serve game – the first contact of each play,” Metzger said. “We’re blocking better than our team ever has, thanks to (volunteer assistant coach Jose Loiola), … and we want to continue to be the best setting team in the country.”

As for the players, Muret said her pairing will be focused on its own goals leading up to the tournament.

“(Quade and I) want to keep building as a partnership,” Muret said. “We want to come out strong, be aggressive and just go for it this weekend.”

UCLA will have two matches Saturday and one match Sunday, slated at 9 a.m., 4:30 p.m. and 10:15 a.m., respectively.

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Paul Diamantopoulos | Sports contributor
Diamantopoulos is currently a Sports contributor on the men's tennis beat. He was previously a contributor on the beach volleyball beat.
Diamantopoulos is currently a Sports contributor on the men's tennis beat. He was previously a contributor on the beach volleyball beat.
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