Sept. 30, 2005

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Friday night the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team proved value of a home-court advantage.

Following 11 straight road matches to open the 2005 campaign, the Gauchos made their Thunderdome debut and produced their biggest win of the season, a 30-28, 30-19, 30-25 sweep of Big West Conference rival Long Beach State, currently ranked 25th nationally.

With its seventh-straight victory over the 49ers dating back to 2002, UCSB improved to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in league play, also ending a four-match losing streak that equaled the longest skid in program history. It also marked the Gauchos' first triumph over a top-25 squad in six tries this season. LBSU saw its three-match winning streak halted and fell to 10-4, 0-1 before a raucous crowd of 1,210.

Santa Barbara certainly didn't appear to be at home to open game one, shanking the Beach's opening serve and them committing two out-of-rotation errors, the second of which gave the visitors a 6-5 advantage. However the Gauchos settled down and the score remained close until 12-12, when the home team reeled off five unanswered points that included a kill and two aces from junior middle blocker Olivia Waldowski. UCSB kept Long Beach at bay until late in the frame, when an attach error capped a 3-0 49er run and pulled them within 28-27. The two squads traded points before Gaucho junior outside hitter Janine Sandell secured victory with her sixth kill of the game.

Game two was all Santa Barbara, which opened up a quick 5-1 lead, forcing LBSU head coach Brian Gimmillaro to call timeout. The stoppage did little to halt UCSB's momentum as the home team went ahead 12-4 following another Sandell slam. The lead grew as wide as 25-13 thanks to freshman Lauren McLaughlin's service ace, and the outcome was never in doubt. The Gauchos hit a sparkling .368 in the second frame to take a commanding 2-0 advantage into the locker rooms.

The scoreboard read 17-15 UCSB midway through game three until Brett Quirarte and Sandell connected on back-to-back kills for the home team. The Beach would get no closer than three points, while a later 4-0 run ignited by Blackshire's put-away put Santa Barbara in control at 26-20. Long Beach crept back within 28-25 following consecutive kills by Quincy Verdin and Erika Chidester, but the Gauchos fed off their home crowd and put up a big block on the final two points. Waldowski was involved on both plays, and after the second stuff was joined by he teammates in celebration at center court.

UCSB connected at a season-high .319 hitting percentage, led by Sandell's astounding 16-kill, zero-error effort on 36 swings for a sparkling .444 clip. McLaughlin matched her personal best of 11 slams while Waldowski and Quirarte posted seven kills and five block assist apiece. Sophomore setter Ashley Dutro dished off 40 assists in the sweep.

With 12 and 10 put-aways, respectively, Alexis Crimes and Mariko Crum paced the 49er attack. The duo combined to hit .400 but as a team LBSU connected at just a .162 rate. Long Beach senior libero Heather Laudato was the evening's top digging artist with 12 scoops.

The Gauchos next take the court Saturday at 7:00 p.m., hosting UC Irvine in a Big West showdown in the Thunderdome.