Sept. 24, 2005

Box Score

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara womens volleyball team lost its Big West Conference opener Saturday at Cal Poly by a score of 30-16, 30-16, 26-30, 30-25 in Mott Gym.

The Gauchos' fourth-straight defeat - their longest losing streak since November of 1995 - drops their overall record to 4-7. The Mustangs improved to 8-3 under first-year head coach Jon Stevenson.

Jumior outside hitter Janine Sandell led the UCSB attack with 16 kills, while Emily Hendrickson dug 25 balls. Santa Barbara hit just .131 on .

Vanessa Gilliam tallied a match-best 20 kill sfor CP, which connected at a .255 clip and out-blocked the visitors 13 to seven.

In the first game Cal Poly jumped to a 11-6 lead behind three kills by Gilliam forcing a UCSB timeout. The Mustangs forced a second Gaucho timeout when they extended the lead to 21-10. Cal Poly closed the match 9-6 run and held the Gauchos to a .000 hitting percentage. Cal Poly hit .262 in the game and recorded 4.5 blocks.

The second game went the same game won with the Mustangs jumping to a 11-7 lead before UCSB called a timeout. The Mustangs extended the lead to 17-9 and another Gaucho timeout. Cal Poly went on to win 30-16 and hit .250 in the game while holding the Gauchos to just .100. In the game Atherstone led Cal Poly with five kills.

Coming out of a break to start the third game, UCSB got on track behind the play of Lauren McLaughlin's seven kills. Sandell added four as the team hit a match-high .250. Cal Poly hit .275 but committed five service errors in the game.

UCSB led 8-2 before the Mustang bench called a timeout. The Gauchos led the entire game, but Cal Poly kept coming back. The Mustangs trailed 20-13 and outscored UCSB 8-2, trailing 22-21. The Mustangs would pull to within one, one more time (23-22) before UCSB would pull away.

In the fourth game Cal Poly trailed 4-3, but it would be the last time the team trailed. The Mustangs built a 26-16 lead until UCSB would rattle off seven straight points (26-23) behind the serving of Ashley Dutro. But the Mustangs would close the game and the match on a 4-2 run.

After 11 straight road matches to open the season, the Gauchos will play their home opener on Friday, Sept. 30 vs. Long Beach State. The UCSB-LBSU showdown is slated for a 7:00 p.m. start in the Thunderdome.