Everything is bigger in Texas, including UCLA’s redemption arc.

After last week’s setbacks in Texas, a weekend away in El Paso was the perfect backdrop to flip the script.

UCLA women’s volleyball (4-3) stampeded the Sun City Classic, sweeping the tournament by taking down UTEP (8-1), Oral Roberts (0-8) and Texas Southern (1-9) this weekend in El Paso, Texas.

The sweep comes after a trying dry spell, as the squad has struggled to build two-way chemistry on the road. The tournament provided the Bruins with the chance to find their rhythm and identity against mid-major opponents.

“Of course, it’s nice to come away with three wins, but I think our young group playing together really took a couple of big steps forward in terms of some cohesiveness,” said coach Alfee Reft. “I thought our offense started to really come together as the weekend progressed, and that we just saw a little more synchronicity in terms of how we were playing.”

UCLA not only tightened up its execution, it also dominated, holding opponents no more than 22 points in every set. The squad also had a 124-75 kill advantage across the campaign.

UTEP would be the toughest challenge of the weekend to begin the tournament. The Miners entered the match ranked No. 22 in the nation in hitting percentage, with a season clip of .294.

But the Bruins found considerable growth to end the Miners’ six-game winning streak coming into the weekend.

The Bruins hit on a .330 clip, much to the help of double-digit kills by senior outside hitter Cheridyn Leverette, limiting UTEP to a .244 hitting percentage.

The victory set the precedent for the rest of the weekend.

In Friday’s game against Oral Roberts, UCLA held its own on both fronts. Defensively, the Bruins kept up with the Golden Eagles with a combined 40 digs across the match to their 38. Junior defense specialist/libero Kat Lutz anchored the defense with 15 digs during lengthy rallies, maintaining UCLA’s resilience during the match.

Consistency defined their play at the net. The squad rallied 38 kills and blocked 12 attempts, led by redshirt junior middle blocker Marianna Singletary’s seven.

“We’ve been working a lot on our offense and just capitalizing on balls that we’re playing in transition,” Lutz said. “So I think this weekend was great that we were able to get in our groove and just do what we do.”

In the final match of the tournament against Texas Southern, the squad boasted its most efficient performance with sharp serving and dominant net play. The Bruins’ opening blowout set of 25-4 against the Tigers underscores how far the team has come.

At the net, the Bruins delivered attacks consistently, reaching over. 330 in all three frames. Leverette – who was the Sun City Classic Most Valuable Player – ended the match with 14 kills on a .423 clip.

“I think we really came together as a team and bounced back,” Leverette said. “We wanted to come closer to finding our competitive identity, and I think this weekend was a good opportunity for us to try some new things.”

Sophomore setter Kate Duffey – a Sun City Classic All-Tournament selection – racked up 97 assists, 22 digs and six service aces throughout the tournament. While Singletary continued to command at the net with 14 kills and nine blocks across the final two matches of the tournament, earning an All-Tournament selection as well.

For Reft, the weekend was not about wins but establishing the groundwork for how the team wants to compete.

“I think we’ve been really emphasizing just finding our rhythms, our identity, and I saw it moving together a lot more frequently this weekend,” Reft said.