This post was updated March 4 at 10:01 p.m.

Coaches are often quick to dismiss rankings in favor of results on the sand.

But the Bruins appeared every bit of their top national ranking at the Battle for LA tournament.

No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball (9-1) swept No. 8 Long Beach State (3-3) and took down No. 6 Cal Poly (2-2) by a score of 4-1 on Friday before defeating Pepperdine (2-6) by a score of 4-1 and sweeping CSUN (2-4) on Saturday at Mapes Beach.

“I learned a few years ago that the best thing for our team is to play tough competition from the beginning,“ said coach Jenny Johnson Jordan. “It really helps our team get a feel for where we’re at and where we want to go.”

Battling winds of up to 14 miles per hour, junior Maggie Boyd and freshman Sally Perez secured the Bruins’ fourth point against Long Beach, defeating Malia Gementera and Taylor Hagenah 19-21, 21-14, 15-13.

While the Bruins ultimately bested the Mustangs, they did drop one match as twos pair senior Natalie Myszkowski and graduate student Peri Brennan fell to Izzy Martinez and Logan Walter in three sets 21-15, 16-21, 15-13.

Playing on its home sand for the first time this season added some sentiment to the weekend for the team.

“It just feels more personal,” Perez said. “Playing in a place where we’re comfortable, we can really go for our serves, be really aggressive and not be afraid, just go out there and leave nothing, and have no regrets on the court.”

On Saturday, UCLA opened play against Pepperdine, winning four matches to one, with threes pair redshirt sophomores Kenzie Brower and Ensley Alden dropping a match to Emma Eden and Ella Foti in three sets.

But Brower and Alden bounced back against CSUN, securing UCLA’s third point by defeating Haley Coggins and Dylan Hall in straight sets 21-14, 21-11.

Brower said her mindset coming into her second match after a loss to Pepperdine was to treat it as a new game.

“We had an opportunity to come out with a fresh start,” Brower said. “It was a clean slate to just play our game and show what we can do.”

Beyond being the first home tournament of the season for UCLA, the Battle for LA held significance for many of the local schools attending, which continue to be affected by the impact of the Los Angeles wildfires.

Perez said the fires have affected many of her teammates and forced the team to adjust.

“It’s an honor to play for LA and be a school here in LA that we can represent and come out strong for the people who were affected by the fires,” Perez said.

With an undefeated weekend under the team’s belt, Johnson Jordan said the Bruins have made an early-season statement.

“I think this weekend showed not only the depth of our program and what we can do,” Johnson Jordan said. “I’m just really happy with everyone’s performance this weekend.”

UCLA will continue its conference schedule against Oregon, Stanford, Grand Canyon and California at the MPSF Midseason Rumble beginning Friday.