Coming off a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to first place Long Beach State on Friday night, UCSB (13-9, 4-5) bounced right back on Saturday to defeat Cal State Northridge (6-14, 2-6) in four sets. Lindsey Ruddins led the offense for the fourth straight match racking up 19 kills while Elizabeth Sheffield tallied nine kills of her own.

The big performance off the bench marked the fourth time Sheffield has reached nine kills this season, while her .615 hitting percentage was her most efficient mark out of those four matches.

"I thought we came out with a lot of energy and execution in the first set, and that was big after a grueling match last night," Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said. "We really rode Lindsey pretty hard for the first couple sets, and when we needed more offense, Liz was outstanding coming off the bench for us. She really made things happen and she was pretty much unstoppable."

For the second straight night, UCSB found itself with a 2-0 lead at home. This time though, the Gauchos would find a way to close out the opposition as they saved their best for last, hitting at a .407 clip as a team on their way to a 25-17 win in the decisive fourth set.

As has been the case for much of the conference season, Santa Barbara once again found a big advantage in the serving game. Through the first two sets alone, despite CSUN holding a 28-24 advantage in kills and hitting at a more efficient clip, UCSB enjoyed a 5-0 advantage in aces to help them take a 2-0 lead. Ruddins led the way with a career-high four aces as the Gauchos ended the night with an overwhelming 12-1 edge in the serving game.

Now at 4-5 in conference play, Santa Barbara is tied with UC Irvine for the fifth-best record in the Big West.

"We all came out with incredible hunger. I don't think we've wanted to win a game as badly as we did tonight," Sheffield said. "I think we all felt like we were kind of robbed last night and we didn't want to let that happen again."

The Gauchos didn't get off to a very promising start in the opening set, falling behind 5-1 after a kill by Northridge's Julie Haake. UCSB quickly pulled it together though, answering with a 6-1 run that included three kills from Ruddins to take an 8-7 lead.

Ruddins would continue to put her stamp on the game early and often. She accumulated 9.5 of her 24 total points in the first set alone, sparking a 6-0 run with a pair of aces to help put UCSB up 22-13. The Gauchos would eventually close out the set 25-20 after a kill by Megan Rice.

UCSB got off to a much better start in the second set, opening things up with a 5-1 lead. A 7-2 run in the middle of the set allowed the Matadors to take a 16-13 lead, but the Gauchos would soon answer back with a 7-2 run of their own to take a 23-20 advantage off a nice block from Sheffield and Rice. Leading 24-21, Santa Barbara needed three set points before they eventually won the game 25-23 on a Matador service error.

Fighting to stay alive, Northridge would have its most efficient offensive game of the night in the third set, hitting at a .293 clip as both teams fought down to the wire. After trailing 22-21, the Matadors scored four of the next five points, capped off by a kill from Aeryn Owens, to earn a 25-23 win and force a fourth set.

From there, UCSB took care of business, opening up with a 6-1 lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the night. Ruddins earned another six points in the final game before Phoebe Grunt eventually finished off the Matadors with a kill to clinch a 25-17 win and end the match at 3-1.

Hannah Juley had another stellar night setting up her teammates, picking up 47 assists to go along with six digs.

"Across the board, we passed so well. Hannah was just giving me the ball at the right times and it made things a lot easier," Sheffield said. "We had our gameplan and we just stuck to it. We had key blocks and luckily I found the floor when I could."

Northridge's Julie Haake finished with a match-high 22 kills and a .298 hitting percentage while Owens recorded the night's only double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs.

On the defensive side, Emilia Petrachi had 17 digs, marking her eighth straight match as the team's digs leader.

Overall, the Matadors had the advantage in total blocks (9-8) and digs (63-53), but it was not enough to slow down a hungry Gaucho side at home.

UCSB will head back on the road for a Blue-Green rematch at Cal Poly on Friday night. The Mustangs defeated the Gauchos 3-0 when the two teams faced each other earlier this month.