After the UCLA women’s beach volleyball team was upset in the NCAA Tournament last season, the Bruins made a pledge to Maggie Boyd about her last college season.
We are going to have your back.
On Sunday, in a stunning display of dominance, they made good on that promise.
With a sweep of top-seeded Stanford that took less than an hour, the third-seeded Bruins won their third national championship in the sport and first since 2019.
In a bit of serendipity on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Ala., the No. 1 pair of Boyd and Sally Perez clinched the title, sending teammates sprinting onto the court in celebration.
UCLA’s three national titles in women’s beach volleyball trail only rival USC’s six championships. The Bruins have reached the title game six times since the sport’s debut NCAA season in 2016.
This was Jenny Johnson Jordan’s first title in her third season as UCLA’s head coach. The daughter of legendary UCLA track star Rafer Johnson, Johnson Jordan was an assistant coach during her alma mater’s first two beach volleyball titles and a player on the Bruins’ 1991 women’s volleyball team that won an NCAA title.
“It feels honestly surreal,” Johnson Jordan told The California Post of the latest championship. “I don’t think it’s totally sunk in yet, but I just was really just proud of the way the team came out just firing on all cylinders on every court. I was really proud of them for that.”
The day immediately tilted in the Bruins’ favor as the team won the first set on all five courts.
Kaley Mathews and Ensley Alden notched UCLA’s first victory, a 21-16, 21-11 triumph over Stanford’s Brooke Rockwell and Ruby Sorra. Ava Williamson and Jesse Dueck followed with a 21-17, 25-23 victory that was sealed on Williamson’s ace.
That left the Bruins (34-6) needing just one more win from the three remaining matches to secure the championship. Perez and Boyd delivered with a 21-11, 21-19 victory.
“The first thing I said to my mom was, ‘All of your money paid off and all of our hard work paid off,’ ” said UCLA’s Harper Cooper, who was also leading her match when her teammates clinched. “So, yeah, it’s awesome. Everyone dreams about it. So it’s good to finally do it.”
How were the Bruins able to be so dominant?
“I wish I knew the secret,” Johnson Jordan said with a laugh. “You know, I think the biggest thing is just continuing to tell them who they are and what we know they can do and try to take as much pressure away from the moment. They’ve done the work, they’ve done all the hard stuff and this is just the cherry on top.”
The Bruins reached the final by downing sixth-seeded Cal Poly in the quarterfinals and second-seeded Texas in the semifinals a day earlier. UCLA’s victory over Texas broke a three-match losing streak against the Longhorns, including a setback in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship late last month.
“It was not one thing,” Johnson Jordan said of her team’s success. “We won at different spots in different duels. I think the biggest thing it showed us and everyone else — and just reiterated to us — is that we can win in a lot of different ways, and I think the Texas one was pretty sweet for us because we won at 3, 4 and 5 and the 1s and 2s had really been carrying us obviously, so it was nice to have their backs that round.”
It was also great to make good on their word.
