Sept. 15, 2005

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team suffered its first defeat of the season at the hands of an unranked squad, falling to Utah State 30-21, 25-30, 22-30, 30-25, 15-9 Thursday in the opening match of the Stanford Invitational in Maples Pavilion.

With the upset, the 24th-ranked Gauchos fell to 4-4 on the year, equaling their entire loss total from all of 2004. By snapping their nine-match losing streak at the hands of former Big West Conference rival UCSB, the Aggies improved to 6-4.

After hitting a forgettable .000 in game one, Santa Barbara took an 8-7 lead early in the second frame and never relinquished control, although neither squad scored more than two consecutive points. The Gauchos' improved their connection rate to .361 while evening the score heading into the locker rooms.

A 4-0 run put UCSB ahead 11-7 early in game three, although that gap narrowed to 20-18 folllowing one of Zuzana Cerniansks' match-high 20 kills. Santa Barbara regrouped to score four more unanswered - the last coming on Bethany Johansen's put-away - and cruised to victory

However that momentum did not carry over into game four, as the Aggies broke open a 14-14 tie and refused to surrender the lead. UCSB later pulled within 25-23, but Utah State put things away to force the decisive fifth frame.

Game five was all USU, which opened on a 4-0 run held Santa Barbara at bay throughout. The three-time defending Big West champs got as close as 9-7, but then surrendered four straight points, two via hitting errors. Amanda Orgill's kill secured the upset and ended the marathon match.

Junior outside hitter Janine Sandell amassed her second straight double-double and fourth of the season for UCSB in the form of 19 kills and 17 digs, Three other Gauchos also produced double-digit put-aways, the most efficient of which was senior middle blocker Megan Blackshire who hit .500 while producing 12 slams. Santa Barbara served up a season-high 10 aces, three courtesy of Olivia Waldowski, but was out-blocked 11 to eight.

In addition to Cernianska's heroics, four other USU hitters had 10 or more kills, including Erin Graybill with 14. The Aggies hit a respectable .263, compared to UCSB's not-so-stellar .162.

The Gauchos will look to regroup on Friday, Sept. 16 when they continue Stanford Invitational play against 23rd-ranked Saint Mary's at 5:00 p.m. That match will be broadcast live on KCSB 91.9 FM and www.kcsb.org.