One season in, and Coach Jenny Johnson Jordan’s crew has already become a piece of MPSF history.

The MPSF announced it would begin sponsoring beach volleyball as its 12th collegiate sport for the 2025 season and that the conference would include programs such as USC, Oregon, Washington, Stanford and California.

Along with integrating themselves into a newly established conference, the Bruins were also tasked with constructing a new identity as they welcomed freshmen ahead of the 2025 campaign.

This season, the Bruins welcome an influx of newcomers once again and also face the challenge of assembling the new pieces.

“Every year there’s different teams,” Jordan said. “There’s different pieces, there’s different things to focus on, and it’s always a challenge for folks to figure out.”

And as the new pieces begin to lock into place, No. 1 UCLA beach volleyball is preparing to set foot in Honolulu, Hawaii, for the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic.

The tournament will start Thursday morning with a doubleheader against No. 6 Texas and No. 16 Hawai’i, followed by No. 7 LMU and No. 2 Stanford on Friday before closing the weekend with contests against No. 9 Cal and No. 4 USC.

The Bruins also bolstered its coaching lineup, welcoming Theo Brunner as the new assistant coach.

Brunner – who holds seven AVP titles – has coaching experience at the international level and currently serves as the head coach for USA Beach Volleyball Olympic team members Andy Benesh and former Bruin Miles Partain. He will make his collegiate coaching debut this season with the Bruins.

“Theo’s been great,” Jordan said. “He likes to nerd out on volleyball, and he loves having video sessions with the team members. … He’s been a great addition to the volleyball piece of it, and he’s also just great to be around.”

Jordan said that, alongside the addition of Brunner, the team has been training at a high level heading into this season. The head honcho also said the squad’s versatility has impressed her.

For senior Maggie Boyd, the new season is an opportunity to turn growth into a long-awaited title.

“In my four years here I haven’t won a championship yet,” Boyd said. “But each year I’ve had so many great experiences. … I have had so many amazing things happen and have gotten to play with so many great players. … We’re hoping this year we get that win.”

Heading into the season, sophomore Sally Perez said the team is focused on cultivating its competitive nature among the new and seasoned players. Perez is also one of three freshmen that earned All-American honors last season, but she was the only first-year player that was named to the First Team last season.

“We have so much talent – young and older – throughout our roster this year,” Perez said. “We really just want to compete with each other, push each other, make each other better, explore our weaknesses in practice so we can come out strong.”

Boyd and Perez were both selected to the AVCA Beach Player of the Year Watch List this week. Last season, the duo punched a 32-4 record and earned MPSF Pair of the Year.

With the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic just around the corner, Boyd said that the team’s difficult schedule will benefit the Bruins’ development.

“We’re so excited we get the opportunity to go to Hawaii and play six of the top-ranked teams,” Boyd said. “It really is going to help us see where we line up, and we’re excited we get all of those opportunities.”