Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Led by Jaylen Villanueva's match high 15 kills, UCSB (6-12, 2-5) completed an undefeated weekend with a convincing 3-1 win over Cal State Fullerton (0-18, 0-6) in the Thunderdome on Saturday night.
Villanueva's kill total was one of her two season highs, as she also finished the match with a .306 hitting percentage. Phoebe Grunt continues to impress on offense with 13 kills from a .478 clip, while Britton Taylor also reached 13 kills, tying a season high. As a team, the Gauchos looked terrific on offense with a .302 hitting percentage compared to the Titans' .104.
Emilia Petrachi paced the team match with 23 digs, as the Gauchos eclipsed Fullerton in the category 69-54.
Adding to her offensive effort, Grunt also led UCSB in the block categories with four total. Behind her was Annie Hasselmann who reached a career high with three block assists, adding to her match leading 30 assists.
Though the Gauchos had another slow start in losing the first set 25-20, they trounced on the Titans in the second set for a 25-12 victory. The tone was set early with three consecutive UCSB points to start with Grunt and Devin Joos coming through with kills.
But more notable than the start was the 10-2 finish the Gauchos used to close out the win. It started with
Ali Barbeau beating would-be blocker Summer Kerins on a kill and Hasselmann registering a service ace, making the score 17-10.
From there, Barbeau added another kill, while Taylor and Villanueva added two and one, respectively. Shauna Klein was superb at the service line during the run, as she led the Gauchos to five consecutive points, including an ace.
UCSB again finished strong in the third game, this time with an 8-2 run. The Titans were able to tie the score at 17-17 after erasing an 11-5 Gaucho lead. Though it looked as they were carrying the momentum, Taylor jump-started UCSB with a kill, which her teammates followed up with seven more kills. Elizabeth Sheffield found three kills in a four-point stretch, while Villanueva gave the Gauchos set-point with the team's final kill of the set. UCSB officially took the game after Fullerton's Kyra sent an attack sailing out of bounds, making the score 25-19.
With back-to-back strong finishes, the Gauchos flipped the script and stormed out the gates in the fourth game with eight consecutive points. Specifically, it was Villanueva who overwhelmed the Titans in recording six kills through the first seven points, including five in a row. For safe measure, she threw down another kill – which made the score 20-5 – to put her total to seven in the fourth game alone.
In clinching the match, Grunt had a hand in scoring UCSB's final three points with a kill and a pair of blocks she made along side Hasselmann.
The Gauchos will be on the road next weekend, as they will visit Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge. Their match with CSUN will be broadcasted on ESPN3. Check back at UCSBgauchos.com for an online link to the match.
