Opening Night Crowd Sees Women’s Volleyball Battle With UCLA

Friday, August 28

Long Beach, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

0-1,0-0Big West

UCLA

1-0,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UCLA	25	25	25	25	3
Long Beach St.	27	19	23	20	1

LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, Crowd, Women's Volleyball

Opening Night Crowd Sees Women’s Volleyball Battle With UCLA

8/28/2026 10:16:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

A crowd of over 3,000 saw the Beach open the season in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State got off to a strong start in front of a 3,075-strong crowd in the LBS Financial Credit Union, winning the first set but ultimately falling to the Bruins in four, 25-27, 25-19, 25-23, 25-20. The crowd was the 17th over 3,000 for women's volleyball at Long Beach State.

Madi Maxwell was outstanding for Long Beach State, as the junior setter finished with her third career double-double. She was one off her career high with a team-high 18 digs and also added 12 kills while making 28 assists on the night. The Beach also got a lift from sophomore Sidney Hamaker, who made three aces while leading the team with 14 kills on the night.

Long Beach State (0-1) raced off to a hot start in front of a raucous opening-day crowd, taking the first three points, including back-to-back kills from Kyler Birkelbach and Sidney Hamaker. UCLA (1-0) was able to close the gap, using a block and an ace from Lola Schumacher to take its first lead in the set.

The battle was on from there, with an ace by new transfer Kendal Murphy putting the Bach on top 12-11. Finding another newcomer, Reagan Hope, on a slide, Long Beach State pushed to a 16-13 lead, but UCLA answered to tie the set at 16. Marianna Singletary pushed the Bruins into a 19-18 lead, but the Beach bounced right back, hitting Hamaker for a 20-19 lead. Long Beach State held on through a thrilling rally to stay on top 23-22, and a slick Madi Maxwell dump earned the Beach a set point. Maxwell won a joust at the net to put the Beach up 26-25, and LBSU closed out the set 27-25.

A huge kill from Chloe Johnson followed by a UCLA error kept the momentum in favor of LBSU in the second set, forcing an early Bruin timeout as the Beach opened up a 9-6 lead. Sidney Hamaker put away her second ace of the match to push the lead back up to three once more at 16-13, and the Beach continued to hold the edge in the second set. A kill from Maxwell opened up a four-point lead for Long Beach State at 19-15, the largest of the set, but UCLA rallied in that rotation with Maggie Li behind the end line and finished off the set on a 10-point run, winning 25-19 to even the match.

Freshman Kylie Birkelbach had a solo block followed by a kill to establish a mid-set lead for Long Beach State in a back-and-forth start to the third. Two kills by Kate Duffey followed by a miss from Chloe Johnson put the Beach in a 15-11 hole at the media timeout. Long Beach State rallied, with a third ace from Hamaker cutting the lead back to one at 15-14. Service errors from the Bruins kept the Beach close, and Hamaker found the line to give LBSU a 21-20 lead down the stretch. UCLA rallied to hold off the Beach, taking the third 25-23 in another close set.

Chloe Johnson smashed an overpass and picked up a block with Pola Bujnarowska to start the fourth positively for the Beach. A Maxwell solo block kept the momentum going for Long Beach State, opening up a 5-1 lead. Maxwell's tenth kill of the match pushed the lead back up to 12-9, though the Bruins would even the set once more at 13-all. Two kills from Li shifted the momentum toward the Bruins, and UCLA closed out the set and the match with a 25-20 win.

The series continues with a rematch at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m., with live coverage provided by B1G+.