Oct. 15, 2005

Box Score

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In a Big West Conference women's volleyball match that featured more roller coasters than a Six Flag's amusement park, UC Santa Barbara outlasted Pacific 30-25, 30-19, 27-30, 28-30, 15-12 in the Thunderdome.

The Gauchos pulled out their sixth consecutive win to improve to 10-7 overall, maintaining their half-match lead over Long Beach State in the league standings at 6-1. Pacific fell to 9-9, 3-3 in Big West play.

The decisive fifth game provided all sorts of dramatics, as UCSB held a two-point advantage on five occasions before the visitors evened the score at 8-8 courtesy of Ashley Groothuis' kill. However UOP immediately committed a service error and senior Megan Blackshire notched a put-away to again give the home team a two-point cushion. The Santa Barbara lead later reached 13-10 when junior Janine Sandell hit paydirt, forcing Pacific head coach Jayne McHugh to call timeout. Her troops responded with two straight points - the first via Johanna Hilber's cross-court slam - prompting the Gauchos to ask for a stoppage of play themselves. Following the break, Sandell pounded home a kill out of the back row, and sophomore Bethany Johansen connected on Blackshire's quick-set to seal the hard-fought victory.

UCSB's toughness was a stark contrast to the previous two frames when it allowed the Tigers back into the match. The Gauchos committed seven service errors in game three alone while UOP also got defensive with four team blocks. That set the stage for a hotly-contested fourth frame in which neither squad led by more than two points. Deadlocked at 20-20, the two longtime conference rivals traded serves until 26-26, when Pacific reeled off two straight points courtesy of Santa Barbara hitting errors. Gaucho head coach Kathy Gregory called timeout, after which the last four plays of the game were decided by Groothuis kill attempts. Her last was good for a put-away and forced the decisive frame.

The home team built its early advantage after hitting a combined .370 through the first two games. Leading just 26-24 in the opening frame UCSB captured four of the final five points which included a pair of McLaughlin slams. Santa Barbara then rebounded from an early 9-6 hole in game two by scoring 14 of the next 17 points, including a stretch of five in a row while McLaughlin was back to serve. Up 20-12, the Gauchos never let UOP creep back within six points.

Sandell led all players with 29 kills - the second-best effort of her career - hitting .318 in the process and moving within two put-aways of 1,000 as a Gaucho. The London England, native added 15 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. McLaughlin also enjoyed a double-dip of 14 kills and 11 scoops while sophomore Brett Quirarte added 10 put-aways and seven total blocks. Blackshire's nine kills put her just one-shy of 1,000 in her career. Defensively, junior libero Emily Hendrickson tallied a team-best 19 digs and sophomore setter Ashley Dutro added a personal best 17 scoops. As a team UCSB blocked a season-high 15 balls.

Pacific sophomore Kara Uhl was not far behind Sandell with 26 slams - connecting at a .321 clip - and also dug a match-high 23 balls. Groothuis was the only other Tiger in double-figures with 15 put-aways.

The Gauchos will break from Big West play for a Tuesday, Oct. 18 showdown at Pepperdine (10-7 overall, 3-3 in the West Coast Conference). That match will begin at 7:00 p.m. and be broadcast live by KCSB 91.9 FM.