UCLA beach volleyball collects 4 victories at Pac-12 North Invitational

Almost two months into the season, redshirt freshman Peri Brennan had yet to play for the blue and gold.

That all changed Saturday.

No. 3 UCLA beach volleyball (25-2, 7-0 Pac-12) emerged victorious in the Pac-12 North Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, collecting victories over No. 12 California (20-9, 1-2), Arizona State (13-13, 5-6), Oregon (9-14, 1-4) and Washington (7-13, 2-7). Brennan and redshirt freshman Tessa Van Winkle started the Bruins’ first three duals of the tournament, winning six of their eight sets.

The Bruins – whose ranking fell from No. 1 to No. 3 prior to the weekend – swept every dual but one. Court two’s pair of sophomore Devon Newberry and redshirt sophomore Jaden Whitmarsh dropped the team’s lone point in a straight-set loss to California’s Ana Costa and Maya Gessner.

Brennan said the team’s energy wasn’t normal against the Golden Bears before it improved as the tournament continued.

“Starting off our first game against Cal, we were kind of lacking energy, and in the huddle we were saying, ‘We won, but it kind of feels like we lost right now,’” Brennan said. “Our team did a great job turning it around. We were the loudest team definitely today (Sunday).”

Coming off a 4-1 victory against Cal, UCLA swept Arizona State later that evening.

On Sunday, the Bruins swept the Ducks and improved to 5-0 all-time against their Pacific Northwest foe. Brennan and Van Winkle took a three-set tiebreaker over Oregon’s Ella Tyus and Ashley Schroeder with scores of 26-28, 21-16, 15-10 to close out the pair’s weekend of play.

Van Winkle said despite not having much time to prepare together, she and Brennan quickly found their rhythm.

“We had about two practices, but we found our chemistry pretty quickly,” Van Winkle said. “We used to play a lot in high school. It was just a great experience, and I think overall as the games went on, we kept getting more chemistry together, so that was great.”

UCLA finished off the tournament with a dual against Washington on Sunday night. In addition to taking a 5-0 triumph against the Huskies, the Bruins did not concede a single set in the contest.

Brennan said maintaining team chemistry will be paramount for UCLA to close out the season.

“Just continuing to stick together is the best thing we can do,” Brennan said. “No matter what our coaches throw at us – as far as the lineup changes or anything else – as long as we’re together and doing our best on the team, I guess that’s all we can do.”

UCLA will head to San Luis Obispo, California, on Friday to face Florida State in the first dual of the Center of Effort Challenge.