Alfee Reft’s unit is clinging to a .500 record – with an RPI that has them on the outside looking in – with a week left in the regular season.

Nevertheless, the Bruin coach is not ready to call it quits.

“We’re not counting ourselves out yet,” Reft said. “Sorry, I’m not.”

In its second to last game of conference play, UCLA women’s volleyball (14-15, 8-12 Big Ten) swamped Iowa (10-21, 4-15) by a score of 3-1 at Pauley Pavilion, creating the squad’s first win streak since Sept. 12 when it won three consecutive games.

Though the Hawkeyes had the first set tied at 23 apiece, the Bruins walked away with the frame thanks to junior outside/opposite hitter Grayce Olson and freshman outside hitter Kiki Horne notching a pair of kills. An early 7-0 run in the second set catapulted UCLA to a 9-1 lead, setting up a resounding 25-11 victory.

After a 25-23 third set in favor of the Hawkeyes threatened to change the narrative, the Bruins bounced back to clinch the fourth and final frame 25-15.

The junior outside hitter duo in Cheridyn Leverette and Olson led the Bruin offense. The former racked up 14 kills and a pair of aces while the latter contributed a dozen kills on a .524 hitting percentage – her highest since Oct. 26.

“The last few matches had been tough for me stats-wise,” Olson said. “ I was just glad I got to help my team get a win.”

The Bruins averaged a .319 clip Wednesday night, the team’s best mark since its Nov. 7 matchup against Rutgers.

Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes were limited to a .128 clip during the contest, the lowest from a Bruin opponent since Sept. 29 against Ohio State.

Iowa didn’t go out without a fight, though. A trio of Hawkeyes reached double-digit kills, led by outside hitter Michelle Urquhart’s 13 on a .333 hitting percentage alongside two aces.

For a second consecutive match, Reft elected to make a switch at libero – moving sophomore Kat Lutz, who’d been UCLA’s second-string at the position, to defensive specialist and transitioning graduate student Kate Reilly from defensive specialist to libero.

“Kat’s come in and done a nice job defensively,” Reft said. “We have a lot of pieces we can use, and we certainly are always looking for how we’re going to upgrade any sort of product and how we’re going to beat the next equation.”

The tandem of senior libero Peyton Dueck and Reilly combined for 21 digs, 11 assists and an ace against the Hawkeyes.

Wednesday night was also the Bruins’ Pride Night – carrying significance to Reft, an openly gay coach.

“It’s great that UCLA as an institution and our program, certainly, we celebrate diversity and that we honor and respect all facets of life and cultures and religions,” Reft said. “That’s the most important thing we can show, respect and honor. … It’s a beautiful thing.”

Once the battle against Iowa was in the books, Friday’s game against Oregon became UCLA’s last chance to make a statement before the NCAA tournament selection show Dec. 1.

But besides playoff implications, the Bruins’ regular season’s finale also served as the squad’s senior day.

“It’s a very sad thing,” Dueck said. “But I’m just so happy to have the opportunity to be here, be with this program, be with these coaches and teammates and so I’m just really looking forward to taking it all in on Friday. It’ll be super bittersweet and an amazing last game in Pauley.”