No. 1 beach volleyball rounds out UCLA Invitational with win over No. 6 LSU

With the match knotted at 2-2, the Bruins’ court three forced a dual-deciding third-set tiebreaker.

But before the set could even be played out, the blue and gold nearly won by default.

No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball (21-2, 3-0 Pac-12) defeated No. 6 LSU (21-6) by a score of 3-2 at the UCLA Invitational in Manhattan Beach, California, on Sunday after the Tigers initially announced their decision to forfeit in the midst of the dual-deciding match.

Due to delayed start times, LSU was in danger of missing its scheduled flight home, prompting a decision to take the defeat before the contest’s conclusion. The Tigers completed the dual after Bruin coach Stein Metzger instructed one of his players to convince its opponent to continue playing while also offering transportation to the airport, UCLA associate head coach Jenny Johnson Jordan said.

“I am glad they were able to play it out, and it would have been a bummer to end it on a forfeit,” Johnson Jordan said. “I have a lot of respect for LSU and their coaches.”

Court three’s pair of sophomore Devon Newberry and redshirt sophomore Jaden Whitmarsh – who forced the third set with a shortened 21-16 second-frame win – won the final period 15-13 and secured the contest for the Bruins.

UCLA opened the invitational by sweeping No. 15 Florida International (15-5, 4-0 C-USA) and falling to No. 2 TCU (28-1, 4-0 CCSA) on Saturday. The loss came after the Bruins lost 4-1 to the Horned Frogs at the Mapes Beach Invitational on Thursday.

Freshman Natalie Myszkowski, who hails from Manhattan Beach, said competing at the Manhattan Beach Pier over the weekend was an exhilarating experience.

“It is really nice to be back, especially because I know so many people here,” Myszkowski said. “It was also great because I’m used to the sand here.”

Against LSU, Myszkowski and freshman Sophie Moore were the first duo to put the Bruins on the board with a come-from-behind victory on court four.

Moore said increased aggression from the service line helped the pair finish out the match.

“We went all-out on our serving and it helped us get back into it,” Moore said. “It was a huge thing that we are going to continue to integrate.”

Myszkowski and Moore finished the three-dual tourney at Manhattan Beach with two wins and one loss after taking another defeat at the hands of the Horned Frogs’ court four pair Saturday.

UCLA managed to flip a point in its rematch against TCU, winning in straight sets behind the play of court one’s sophomore Lexy Denaburg and junior Abby Van Winkle. But the victory came after the dual was decided a match prior on court five.

Johnson Jordan said the team will continue to focus on making adjustments for the remainder of the season.

“There will always be improvements,” Johnson Jordan said. “We’ve known that you can learn a lot from losses, so we are going back to the drawing board at practice on Tuesday after having the Monday off, which will give us an opportunity to learn in some of those areas.”

The Bruins will return to play at the Pac-12 North Invitational in Stanford on Saturday and Sunday.