HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIFORNIA — Change can occur rapidly. 

And the Bruins’ quest to claim their program-first MPSF championship was dashed in just a couple of minutes. 

No. 2 seed UCLA beach volleyball (30-6) fell to No. 3 seed Texas (26-6) in the MPSF tournament final 3-2 after besting No. 1 seed Stanford (36-4) in the semifinal round. The Bruins clinched the first two points against the Longhorns, but subsequently lost three straight dual-matches, sealing their title loss.

“We need to figure out how to continue to win those bigger moments, because at the end of the day, it’s going to come down to probably a few points,” said coach Jenny Johnson Jordan.

Although UCLA advanced further into the conference tournament this year after falling to then-No. 5 seed USC in last year’s semifinal, the Westwood squad failed to hoist the MPSF trophy yet again.

Redshirt sophomore Kaley Mathews and redshirt junior Ensley Alden secured a straight-set victory to open the affair, notching an early team point. Freshman Jesse Dueck and junior Ava Williamson followed the court two pair’s lead, posting a four-point victory in the third set to put the Bruins up 2-0. 

UCLA needed just one additional team point to claim the MPSF title. 

But the Bruins’ court one and court five tandems squandered the tiebreaking frame.

Court one duo sophomore Sally Perez and senior Maggie Boyd lost the ultimate stanza by just two points. 

And sophomore Alexa Fernandez and redshirt sophomore Harper Cooper also lost in straight sets despite extending the second game beyond the 21-point threshold. 

With a 2-2 tie, redshirt junior Kenzie Brower and freshman Jesse Dueck became the Bruins’ last hope. But ultimately, the Longhorns, who teetered over the edge of the court in anticipation of the championship-clinching point, eventually rushed out to celebrate with court five pair Karin Zolnercikova and Macey Butler as Brower and Dueck slumped off the sand.

The three losses happened in succession, and the Bruin fans – consisting primarily of the athlete’s and coach’s families – muffled their surprise by whispering their shock to fellow spectators. 

“It was typical volleyball,” Harper said. “We knew that it came down to the fundamentals, and the wind was going to change a lot of outcomes and make a lot of things interesting. We knew that would happen. They knew that would happen, and they happened to play better than us today.”

Regardless of falling short, the Bruins thrived in late-game situations against the Cardinal. 

UCLA clinched two dual-match victories in the third set, after Fernandez and Cooper had secured the squad’s sole straight-set triumph in the semifinal game.

And the Bruins who had already completed their games rallied around their teammates who were still competing. 

Mathews motivated Perez and Boyd on court one even after she had been swept by Stanford pair Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra, throwing sand on her teammates while cheering whenever the Bruins’ top pair scored.

“We played with a lot of heart today, and that showed. I’m really proud of our team. I know everyone put their best foot out there today,” Alden said. 

Jordan’s team evened the season series against Stanford with the victory, as the Bruins had lost twice to the Cardinal ahead of the Friday affair, both of which were one-point defeats. 

UCLA will continue its postseason campaign at the NCAA tournament from May 1 to May 3.

“At the end of the day, this is a great preparatory tournament for Gulf Shores (the site of the NCAA tournament), this is very much what it feels like, the wind, the pressure,” Jordan said. “Even though we came with the losers bracket, it was good that we at least got to play another game in this wind. The team felt a lot more confident going into …  Gulf Shores next weekend.”