UCLA’s women’s volleyball team is set to face No. 22 USC on Saturday, October 11 at noon Pacific Time in Pauley Pavilion. The match will be broadcast nationally on NBC, with Kevin Barnett providing play-by-play commentary, Holly McPeak as analyst, and Heather Cox reporting from the sideline.
The Bruins enter the matchup with a 9-6 overall record and a 3-2 mark in Big Ten Conference play. Their most recent performance was a straight-set victory over No. 14 Minnesota in Minneapolis, marking UCLA’s first sweep of a ranked opponent since October 2021. In that match, Cheridyn Leverette led with 15 kills and 17 points, while Marianna Singletary contributed six blocks. Setter Kate Duffey recorded 36 assists and nine digs, Maggie Li added six kills and a service ace, and libero Lola Schumacher tallied 18 digs.
Leverette currently leads the team in scoring with averages of 3.77 points-per-set and 3.48 kills-per-set. She was also named Most Valuable Player of the Sun City Classic earlier this season. Phekran Kong made her debut for UCLA on September 20 with a team-high 12 kills at a .450 hitting percentage.
Freshman Eliana Urzua has had an immediate impact, recently earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors after leading the Bruins during their opening weekend in conference play. “In the opener, she led the Bruins with 20 kills on a blistering .381 hitting percentage, adding five digs and two blocks for 21 total points,” according to UCLA Athletics. She followed up by securing her first career double-double against Penn State.
Lola Schumacher received Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week recognition following her performances against Ohio State and Penn State, where she averaged five digs per set across both matches.
Marianna Singletary ranks second in the conference for total blocks (72), while Schumacher leads the Big Ten in both digs-per-set (4.31) and total digs (207). Carly Hendrickson has contributed significantly since returning from injury, leading UCLA with 14 service aces this season.
Head Coach Alfee Reft is now in his third year leading the program. Nick Vogel joined as an assistant coach over the summer after three seasons with UCLA men’s volleyball.
Last season marked UCLA’s inaugural campaign in the Big Ten Conference; they finished tied for tenth place alongside Michigan and Indiana with an overall record of 14-15 (8-12 Big Ten). Four players—Cheridyn Leverette, Maggie Li, Marianna Singletary, and Phekran Kong—were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team ahead of this season.
UCLA was selected to finish fifth out of eighteen teams in this year’s preseason poll for Big Ten Women’s Volleyball.
The roster features ten newcomers: five transfers—Maggie Li (Cal), Phekran Kong (Louisville), Zayna Meyer (Long Beach State), Marianna Singletary (Texas), Lola Schumacher (Wisconsin)—and five freshmen joining for the current season.
Saturday’s contest against USC will be available via live stats at ucla.statbroadcast.com.
