Sept. 17, 2005

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. - Playing its fourth match in as many nights, the 24th-ranked UC Santa Barbara put up a spirited fight Saturday at No. 3 Stanford, but the end result was a 30-28, 26-30, 30-23, 30-21 loss in Maples Pavilion.

The Gauchos went winless in their three matches at the Stanford Invitational, falling to 4-6 on the season. Five of those defeats have been at the hands of fellow ranked squads, while UCSB is in the midst of 11 straight road matches to open the 2005 campaign. With their 11th-straight victory, the Cardinal improved to 11-1, winning the Stanford Invite title.

In game one, Stanford led from start to finish including a 12-6 advantage in the early going. However the Gauchos played tough, and pulled to within one point, 17-16. From that point, Stanford could not put together a sizable rally and UCSB eventually tied the match at 25-25. The Cardinal scored four straight points to take a 29-25 lead. The Gauchos refused to fold and scored three straight points to pull within one point at 29-28. However, a service error by UCSB's Megan Blackshire gave Stanford a 30-28 decision.

UCSB gave Stanford even more problems in game two, scoring a 30-26 victory. The home team jumped to a 5-2 lead, but the Gauchos tied the match at 12-12, and took their first lead of the game at 13-12 on a kill by Lauren McLaughlin. Santa Barbara increased its lead to 25-22. Stanford cut the Gauchos margin to one point, 25-24, on a Cynthia Barboza kill and a UCSB hitting error. UCSB then took charge and regained its three point lead at 28-25. Another Barboza kill cut the Gaucho lead to two points at 28-26, but a kill and service ace by Blackshire gave UC Santa Barbara the four point win, 30-26.

Stanford took the lead for good in game three at 3-2 and extended the margin to five points (15-10), then seven points (20-13), and then eight points (25-17). A 4-0 run by UCSB cut the Stanford lead to 25-21, but a 5-2 run gave Stanford the game win, 30-23.

Stanford led 9-8 in game four, and then an 8-2 run gave Stanford a healthy 17-10 margin. The lead grew to as many as nine points (27-18). Stanford closed out the game (30-21) and the match on kills by Richards and two by Akinradewo.

Gaucho junior outside hitter Janine Sandell posted her fifth double-double of the season with 19 kills and 11 digs, while Blackshire amassed 13 put-aways. McLaughlin easily had her finest match as a freshman with 10 kills and 19 scoops, both personal bests. Emily Hendrickson's 21 digs led all Gauchos while Ashley Dutro quarterbacked the offense with 46 assists.

Barboza posted a match-high 20 kills, leading a group of four Stanford Players in double-figures. The Cardinal played excellent defense with 89 team digs, while the home team out-hit Santa Barbara .217 to .176.

The Gauchos end their long, strange trip on Saturday, Sept. 24 with their Big West Conference opener at Cal Poly. The UCSB-CP clash is slated for a 7:00 p.m. serve-off in Mustang Gym.