No. 2 seed UCLA beach volleyball will have the opportunity to defend its national title in Gulf Shores, Alabama, this weekend. UCLA will face No. 7 seed Hawai’i in the first round of the NCAA championship at 9 a.m. Read more...

Photo: No. 2 seed UCLA beach volleyball will take on No. 7 seed Hawai’i in the first round of the NCAA championship. The Bruins – last year’s NCAA champion – will have the opportunity to bounce back from its Pac-12 championship loss to USC last weekend. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)

Last May, the Bruins became the first collegiate team to win the NCAA title through the elimination bracket. Last weekend, UCLA beach volleyball (31-3) entered the elimination bracket in the Pac-12 championship after losing to USC (28-4), and won the elimination bracket final – but lost to the Trojans again in the championship final. Read more...

Photo: Senior Sarah Sponcil said that experience playing through the contender’s bracket in both the this year’s Pac-12 championship and last year’s NCAA championship will help UCLA beach volleyball. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)

The Bruins get one more shot to defend their Pac-12 title. No. 1 seed UCLA beach volleyball (31-2) defeated to No. 3 seed California (22-9) 3-0 in the contender’s bracket final of the Pac-12 championship. Read more...

Photo: Junior Savvy Simo and her partner sophomore Lea Monkhouse won 21-14, 23-21 to give UCLA beach volleyball its second point of the dual. The Bruins defeated California 3-0 in the contender’s bracket final of the Pac-12 championship. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)

It came down to court one. Fans flooded to the middle court, where senior Megan McNamara slapped her sister’s hand before stepping back to the service line. Read more...

Photo: Seniors Nicole McNamara (left) and Megan McNamara (right) fell to USC’s Abril Bustamante and Tina Graudina on court one, giving the Trojans the 3-2 victory in the Pac-12 championship. (Alice Naland/Daily Bruin)