Diamonds only form under pressure. Their rarity increases their value.

Similarly, the Bruins have thrived under pressure, but high value is not hard to find in the program.

No. 2 seed UCLA beach volleyball (27-4) will compete at the MPSF Beach Volleyball Championship in Huntington Beach, California, which will take place Wednesday through Friday. UCLA will either face No. 10 seed San Jose State (9-19) or No. 7 seed LSU (20-14) on Wednesday, and the Westwood squad is scheduled to play the last match of the first day.

With a total of 10 teams in the tournament, only the top three ride a winning streak heading into the postseason – Stanford, UCLA and Texas. UCLA’s most recent loss was to Stanford on April 3, falling in a five-set contest.

“Winning at the end is going to be even harder,” said coach Jenny Johnson Jordan. “We want to be in those environments where we get pushed and put under pressure. I’m so proud of the team.”

Stanford is near the top of the beach volleyball podium.

The Cardinals previously captured the inaugural MPSF title in 2025, ousting Oregon, USC and UCLA to secure the championship.

However, MPSF tournaments are often not a reliable predictor for the NCAA championship. Then No. 3 seed Stanford fell to No. 6 seed Cal Poly in a 3-1 contest, marking a postseason upset in the most pivotal moment.

Stanford and UCLA have traded off the No. 1 ranking throughout the regular season, but Stanford currently holds the top spot.

“At the beginning of the season, we wanted to peak around this time,” said sophomore Alexa Fernandez. “We’re doing what we set out to do, and it shows our resilience.”

UCLA’s 4-1 win against USC on the Trojans’ home court Thursday marked a 14-game winning streak for two Bruin pairs.

On court one, sophomore Sally Perez and senior Maggie Boyd maintain a 27-3 overall record, only falling to Stanford, Texas and California. Even with multiple pair switches this season, the duo’s court-one status has remained constant.

On the other hand, redshirt junior Ensley Alden and redshirt sophomore Kaley Mathews have switched off between courts two and three and boast a 20-4 overall record.

UCLA’s starting pairs will prepare themselves against high-caliber teams ahead of the second-to-last tournament of the 2026 campaign.

“We’re looking right now to keep on playing our game,” Mathews said. “Going into this postseason, we’re all extremely motivated and extremely driven.”