Sept. 29, 2007

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball picked up its first Big West Conference win of the season Saturday evening as they beat conference newcomer UC Davis, 30-18, 30-17, 30-24, at the Aggies' Pavilion. Sophomore outside hitter Rebecca Saraceno led the Gauchos with 14 kills in the match.

With the win, UCSB improves to 6-10 on the season and 1-3 in the Big West. UC Davis falls to 3-12 and 0-4 in conference play.

In addition to her 14 kills, Saraceno also had 11 digs and a pair of aces in this evening's match while hitting .265. Junior outside hitter Lauren McLaughlin also pitched in a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs. Senior middle blocker Brett Quirarte had nine kills and six block assists in the win.

Freshman setter Dana Vargas collected 38 assists and 10 digs while junior libero Leigh Stephenson tallied 21 digs.

Kayla Varney and Britt Erickson each had eight kills for the Aggies while setter Carson Lowden had a double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs. Libero Avreeta Singh scooped up 18 digs for UC Davis.

The Gauchos jumped out to a 6-1 lead in game one. Quirarte and Saraceno each had a kill and a block assist during an 8-1 run that pushed UCSB to a 19-9 advantage. Ahead 26-18, UCSB took the 30-18 win after four consecutive UC Davis errors. Saraceno had eight of her kills in the first frame alone as the Gauchos outhit the Aggies .233 to .000 in the game.

UCSB's momentum continued in game two as Saraceno served up a pair of aces in an early 6-0 run that established a 9-3 Gaucho lead. The Gauchos posted their best clip of the match, hitting an impressive .359, with just three errors. Santa Barbara captured the game at 30-17.

The two teams fought through 12 ties in game three. With the match even at 18-18, the Gauchos went on a 5-0 run, which included a pair of aces from Caitlin Saxton, to gain the lead at 23-18. The Aggies climbed back within one point as they posted a 5-1 run of their own to trail 24-23. UCSB was able to break free and held UC Davis to just one point for the remainder of the match as the Gauchos took the 30-24 win.

Santa Barbara will return home to the Thunderdome next week to host Cal State Fullerton in a Big West match-up on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7 pm.