Sept. 16, 2005

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. - Nationally-ranked teams continue to be a thorn in the collective side of the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team, which fell 28-30, 30-20, 30-27, 30-22 to No. 23 Saint Mary's on Friday at the Stanford Invitational.

The defeat in Maples Pavilion drops 24th-ranked UCSB to 4-5, with four of those losses coming at the hands of fellow top-25 squads. The Gauchos have also already exceeded their entire 2004 loss total of four matches. Meanwhile the Gaels upped their record to 7-2 following the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Santa Barbara had reason for optimism after getting off to a hot start, opening a 16-9 game one lead before SMC caught up and eventually went ahead 25-24. UCSB regrouped and won three straight points - two courtesy of Megan Blackshire service aces, and went on for the victory despite being out-hit .233 to .171.

The three-time defending Big West Conference champs then built an 11-8 cushion in the second frame, but Saint Mary's roared back with four unanswered, three via Gaucho miscues. SMC would not trail again and evened things up at one game apiece.

Neither team allowed the other much breathing room in game three until the Gaels built a 23-18 advantage following Missy Stidham's put-away. UCSB rallied within 28-26 on Ashley Dutro's ace, but its opponent regrouped following a timeout to clinch the win, hitting a sparkling .390 in the process.

There would be no Santa Barbara rally in the fourth frame as SMC quickly turned an 18-17 lead into 23-18. The Gauchos would get no closer than four points the rest of the way, with the end result being their second defeat in as many nights.

Jamie Garbisch led the UCSB attack with a career-high 14 kills, while her fellow junior outside hitter Janine Sandell was the only other Gaucho in double-figures with 12. Sophomore middle blocker Brett Quirarte also had a career night by slamming home nine balls, hitting .333 in the process. Santa Barbara was done in, however, by a .149 hitting percentage and a 14.5 to 3.5 deficiency in the blocking department.

Stidham recorded a match-high 20 put-aways and added 10 digs to make her one of three Gaels with a double-double. Meanwhile Brittany Barker frustrated Gaucho hitters with nine total blocks on the evening.

The road ahead does not get any easier for UCSB, which closes Stanford Invitational play Saturday at 5:00 p.m. against the host Cardinal, currently ranked third nationally and coming off a national championship season in 2004. That match can be heard live on KCSB 91.9 FM or at www.kcsb.org, while live "Gametracker" scoring is available at www.ucsbgauchos.com.