UCLA Rebuilding After Losing 4 of Top 5 Scorers in 2017 (SCHEDULE)

The UCLA Bruins, who finished 3rd in the Pac-12 season with a 27-7 record (15-5 in conference), will open up their 2017 season in Honolulu, Hawaii and the Texaco Rainbow Wahine Invitational from August 25th-27th.

That will be the beginning of another road-heavy schedule for the Bruins, who frequently have light home schedules thanks to not hosting an early-season tournament. The 11 home games this year are the team’s fewest since 2013. The first home match won’t come until September 13th, when the Bruins host Loyola Marymount, and the team’s only pre-conference home game.

Number of Home Games During Michael Sealy’s Coaching Tenure

2010 – 10
2011 – 14
2012 – 13
2013 – 10
2014 – 12
2015 – 14
2016 – 12
2017 – 11

That game against Loyola Marymount will also be the first of 16 nationally-televised matches for the Bruins. 15 of those will be on the Pac-12 Networks, while their Pac-12 opener against USC will air on ESPNU on September 20th.

The Bruins don’t play any teams from Power 5 conferences, outside of their own, but have loaded up on opponents from two of the better mid-majors: the West Coast Conference and the Big West. That includes matches against RPI #17 San Diego, #27 Hawaii, as well as against #43 Marquette in their season-opening tournament.

They’ll also play RPI #30 UNLV on September 2nd, followed by a double-header, in Lincoln, against 2015 NCAA Champions and 2016 Final Four participants Nebraska. That will be a big benchmark for the Bruins, who lost 4 of their top 5 scorers from last season. Jordan Anderson, Jennie Frager, and Claire Felix all graduated, and Torrey Van Winden,, who is transferring.

The team, which was deep, will return senior outside hitter Reily Buechler, who averaged 3.34 kills/set for the Bruins last season to lead the team, but she’s one of only two 100-point scorers from last season who will be back.

Nebraska has similarly had big graduations, so this will be a match for both teams’ young players to prove their worth. UCLA did add Loyola Marymount indoor and beach star Sarah Sponcil as a transfer at outside hitter, though she’s a bigger addition for the UCLA beach team than the indoor team.

The Bruins also bring in 8 freshmen, including 3 Under Armour All-Americans, to bolster the team next season.

UCLA made it to the Elite 8 (Regional Finals) of the 2016 NCAA Tournament before being swept away 3-0 by Minnesota.