On a very windy day in Gulf Shores, Alabama, the Bruins harnessed the elements to advance to the second round of the national championships.

No. 1 seed UCLA beach volleyball (38-3) quickly swept No. 17 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (25-10) in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday by a score of 3-0 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Starting off strong, the Bruins swiftly advanced to set point to claim the first set for all five courts. In less than an hour, the dual would belong to UCLA.

The defensive skills of junior Peri Brennan combined with the net patrolling of graduate student Abby Van Winkle on court two secured the Bruins’ first set, clinching it by a score of 21-11. Brennan emphasized the preparation coach Stein Metzger implemented in order to face wind and weather conditions different from the Bruins’ home territory of sunny Los Angeles.

“It’s also a headwind, which in California, we do get winds, but it’s usually side, so we had to adjust to that,” Brennan said. “Luckily, Stein had the golden nuggets to tell us, and we were able to pull it off.”

The first round of the NCAA tournament also solidified the recently established pairs despite some movement testing out different player combinations.

One such pairing, senior Lexy Denaburg and freshman Maggie Boyd, combined veteran experience and fresh energy to put the Bruins up 2-0 on court one, with scores of 21-18 and 21-8.

On her first experience playing in the NCAA tournament, Boyd emphasized the weather changes as an example of remaining present and in the moment.

“It was raining and windy, so the main focus for us was playing the wind ball and using our ball control,” Boyd said. “So I’ve just learned how important it is to focus on every touch and not think about the big picture yet.”

During the second set for the Bruins, when rain began to fall, the blue and gold remained unfazed.

NCAA tournament rules allow play to continue through weather conditions so long as there is no lightning, so UCLA adapted to continue its dominance.

Along with the adjustments for weather, Metzger praised the team for its focus despite the increased pressure provided by the national championship.

“To see the team not get rattled by any of that and continue to play their game and continue to play with a sense of urgency is a really positive sign,” Metzger said.

The Bruins continued to make quick work of the Islanders, with the duos of Van Winkle and Brennan along with Boyd and Denaburg putting the pieces into place for the dual victory by winning their second sets with scores of 21-12 and 21-8.

It all came down to court four, with the duo of sophomore Jessie Smith and graduate student Marlie Monserez putting away the dual for the Bruins off of a Monserez kill.

When asked what the team could improve upon, Metzger had one response.

“Nothing,” Metzger said.

Within the hour, the Bruins were one step closer to a national championship.

UCLA will take on the winner of the matchup between No. 8 seed California and No. 9 seed Long Beach State for the NCAA quarterfinals Saturday at 10 a.m. EST.