UCLA Sports Round-Up: Water Polo Rises; Soccer, Volleyball Fall

Your UCLA Bruins athletics program has had a relatively uneven go of it lately. And we're not just talking about Chip Kelly's job uncertainty, we're talking about the slightly less-heralded sports.

We've got some heartbreaking tales of playoff and invitational exits, along with some very exciting playoff news.

Let's dig into it, shall we?

The No. 1-ranked, 24-2 men's water polo team was recently defeated by the No. 4-ranked, 16-8 Stanford Cardinal 11-10 during a double-overtime matchup, for the rights to a third-place finish at the MPSF Championship, per UCLA Communications. Senior attacker Rafael Real Vergara scored a Bruins-best four goals on the night. But that result is ultimately small potatoes in comparison to the other big news of the day. UCLA has earned the No. 1 overall seed at the 2023 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship, slated to tip off on December 1st at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the USC campus. It's a shame about the location, but what can you do?

Meanwhile, the 16-12 women's volleyball program was vanquished 3-1 by the Cal Golden Bears on Sunday. Sophomore outside/opposite hitter Grayce Olson, a 6'4" California native and 2022 Pac-12 All-Freshman Teamer, enjoyed her most-ever kills, 19, pacing UCLA in the defeat. She also notched two blocks.

Finally, 13th-seeded women's soccer team got booted out of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night, 1-0, at the hands of Loyola Marymount, despite playing in Westwood. 6'4" sophomore goalie Sam Joseph notched four stops.

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