This post was updated March 13 at 11:53 a.m.

The last time UCLA failed to win its regular season conference title, no current player had entered college yet.

The Bruins will face an opportunity to extend its three-year MPSF regular-season conference champion streak when No. 2 UCLA (12-3, 2-0 MPSF) fends off Vanguard (6-9, 1-3) on Thursday at the Freed Center for Leadership and Service, before traveling back to Pauley Pavilion for a rematch Saturday.

The Bruins began MPSF play with victories against then-No. 10 Stanford last Thursday and Friday, respectively. Across both contests, the Cardinal managed to win just one set.

“Mindset going into conference play is a mindset we’ve had all season: go out and win, and win in a dominating fashion,” said junior middle blocker Cameron Thorne.

Even with the victories against Stanford, achieving them did not come easily. In the first two sets of the second match against the Cardinal, the Bruins observed as large as three- and five-point deficits, respectively. Despite such disparities, UCLA came out on top on both occasions. Thorne added that the squad needs to shorten its matches in order to conserve energy for the rest of the season.

“We have to start sweeping more teams,” Thorne said.

The Grand Canyon transfer has contributed to a consistently dominant UCLA defense throughout 2025. Thorne is coming off a tied season-high seven blocks and is averaging 4.27 blocks per game this year with 1.164 blocks per set, ranking him fourth in the nation.

“He’s a special offensive player, so when we can get blocks from him, that means we’re serving well behind him – getting a setter off the net, making him go pin to pin,” said coach John Hawks.

Sharing the net with the Hollywood, Florida, local is redshirt junior outside hitter Cooper Robinson, who most recently achieved a career-high seven blocks, earning him AVCA Player Week of the Week honors on Sunday. As a team, UCLA held the Cardinal to a 0.076 hitting percentage Friday, including a -0.304 hitting percentage in the second set.

Although the first game and a half of MPSF competition was fought without the Bruins’ usual setter, junior Andrew Rowan’s return from illness may prove crucial to the conference tournament in April.

The 2024 AVCA First Team All-American selection ranks 20th in the nation in assists per set with 9.56, and his passing has led UCLA to rank fourth in the country in hitting percentage, at a 0.365 clip.

“We’ve been grinding it out in practice,” Thorne said. “Andrew does a great job of finding me. Our serve receivers have been so good this year. Zach (junior outside hitter Zach Rama), Coop (Cooper Robinson), Curci (sophomore outside hitter Luca Curci) have been dotting … all season, so it helps a lot when we’re dialed in.”

While Rowan’s return may indicate the continuation of an efficient offense, another area of potential improvement comes at the service line. The Bruins are fifth in aces per set nationally, with 107 total aces as a group. However, UCLA’s total error count this year exceeds all of its opponents by 60.

Rama’s previous performance may be sign of positive change, as he posted a season second-best of three aces against the Cardinal on Friday.

“We got to take care of our side,” Rama said. “We know that we have the talent, so if we keep the touches clean, keep everything clean, we should be able to take care of it.”

UCLA’s second conference opponent is a Vanguard team that recently made its MPSF debut after playing in the NAIA for the past four years.

The Lions are led by setter Grant Dvorak and outside hitter/opposite Logan Freemon, both of whom have combined for 269 kills this season. The former is currently 10th in the MPSF in kills per set with 3.07.

Passing to the tandem is setter Brock Henderson, who leads Vanguard with 279 assists.

Last season, UCLA lost the MPSF tournament to GCU 3-2 in the championship game. Regardless of who faces them this year, the Bruins have the opportunity to better their silver medal placing from 2024.

“It’s a pretty consistent message that we trust our guys – that every time we can side out and we can go on a run,” Hawks said. “It’s staying patient and reiterating that message.”