The Bruins didn’t just take the court in their season opener. They unveiled a brand new identity with six players making their debut.

No. 19 UCLA women’s volleyball (1-1) opened the year with mixed results after a five-set thriller win against Long Beach State (1-2) on Monday in Walter Pyramid, followed by a four set loss to Pepperdine (3-1) in Firestone Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Although, the Bruins ultimately clinched their first win of the season, struggles of growing pains were revealed in their play and chemistry. The squad racked up 21 service errors to the Beach’s seven and equally struggled with serve receive.

“We’ve shown some glimpses of some real quality volleyball, and then I think we’ve shown some moments of a new team that’s learning how to play together,” coach Alfee Reft said. “We got to learn how to play as a unit with a lot of new faces on the court.”

New Bruins showed their immediate impact on the court in their debuts.

Junior outside hitter Maggie Li dominated offensively, delivering 18 kills on a .279 clip.

Graduate student setter Zayna Meyer racked up 38 assists to coordinate the offense in her return to her alma mater. Meyer added nine digs, four blocks and two kills to top off her night.

“It was so special just being around that Long Beach fan base and in the Walter Pyramid,” Meyer said. “But I thought it was so much fun competing with our girls against a lot of my old friends and teammates.”

After falling 25-18 in the first set against the Beach, the Bruins responded with redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary delivering a kill and a block back-to-back to fire up the squad. Singletary ended the match with 12 kills on a .423 clip and nine blocks.

After winning both the second and third set, the Bruins fell four points short of taking the match in the fourth. Jumping out to a 10-4 lead, UCLA never looked back, dominating the fifth set to win 15-8.

But the comeback energy did not follow the Bruins to Malibu. Pepperdine took control early, taking the first set 25-23 and holding UCLA to a .083 hitting percentage, never allowing it to find rhythm.

In the second set, the Bruins answered by dominating offensively, putting down 19 kills to the Wave’s nine, leading to a 25-14 second set win. Powered by outside hitters, freshman Eliana Urzua and senior Cheridyn Leverette combined for 14 kills.

Pepperdine got out to a 8-4 lead in the third set before UCLA came within one late, but couldn’t take advantage as the Waves went on a 6-1 scoring run to secure the frame.

The Bruins fought back in the fourth set as Leverette delivered a clutch kill, keeping the team within three in the red zone. Pepperdine’s momentum proved too strong though as they secured the win.

Growing pains are a guarantee with so many new faces on the court as the Bruins learn from their first road trip.

“It’s really about gelling on the court right now and kind of finding our fight, finding our fire and finding out what we want this team to be about,” Singletary said. “That’s what preseason is for – work out the kinks now so that way, when we go into Big Ten, we’ll be rolling as a unit.”