Box Score Under the bright lights of an ESPN3 broadcast, UCSB (16-9, 7-5) made it four straight victories on Saturday night, dismantling an overpowered UC Irvine (10-16, 5-7) side 3-0 on the road. The Gauchos' phenomenal freshman Lindsey Ruddins dominated the match from start to finish, recording a near triple-double with a match-best 15 kills, nine digs, and a career-high eight aces.
It wasn't all Ruddins though. UCSB utilized a balanced offensive attack all night that saw five players average at least 2.33 kills per set, and Irvine could find no answers. The Gauchos finished with a .281 hitting percentage as a team, their sixth-best mark of the season and highest in their last thirteen outings.
Elizabeth Sheffield was outstanding once again in the middle, tallying the second-most kills of the match with nine while hitting at an impressive .348 clip. The senior also finished with a match-high three blocks.
Quarterbacking the Gaucho attack was setter Hannah Juley, who finished with a match-high 37 assists (12.33 per set) to go along with seven digs.
"I felt offensively that we were really in sync," Head Coach Nicole Lantagne Welch said. "I thought Hannah did an excellent job tonight of really giving us a balanced offense and getting the middles going."
Both teams began the match trading points, but UCSB took control midway through the first set after back-to-back aces from Ruddins gave her team a 14-9 advantage. Strong defending and solid play in the middle from Sheffield and Phoebe Grunt, who had seven kills combined in the first set, helped the Gauchos hold Irvine at bay until an Anteater attacking error gave UCSB a 25-22 win.
Irvine would come out with a stronger start in the second set, but still could not find a way to separate themselves from the Gauchos, taking a slim 7-6 lead early on. Just as she did in the first set, Ruddins would record back-to-back aces midway through the set, giving her team a 14-11 lead. With her fourth and fifth aces of the night, Ruddins surpassed her previous career-best of four less than two sets into the match.
"Lindsey was on fire from the service line. She hit at a really high clip, she was in a zone offensively," Lantagne Welch said. "Sometimes a really good server can get in the other team's head, and I think she put pressure on them and it got to the point where they really didn't want to handle it. She was just really aggressive from start to finish and it paid off."
From there, the Gauchos' balanced offense took control, with seemingly every player that stepped on the court getting in on the action. An 8-1 run in which five different Gauchos recorded either a kill or an ace gave UCSB a commanding 22-14 lead. Ruddins would later end the set with another thunderous kill, making it 2-0 after a 25-18 win.
To begin the third set, Ruddins refused to let up, picking up two kills and yet another ace to give the Gauchos an early 4-1 lead. Playing out almost exactly the way the first two games did, UCSB separated itself from the Anteaters midway through the set, as Ruddins recorded back-to-back aces for the third time to put her team up 16-11. Irvine would hold on late in the set, surviving two match points before Ruddins finally finished them off with her 15th kill to end the game at 25-21.
Two Gauchos recorded double-digit digs on the night, with Emilia Petrachi leading the way with 20 digs and Sydney Bast tying a season-high with 11.
"Syd had an all-around great match," Lantagne Welch said. "She passed really well and picked up some key digs. She had a great weekend for us."
Megan Rice and Chloe Allen both chipped in with eight kills apiece, while Grunt finished with seven hitting at a .357 clip.
With four matches left to play, UCSB currently possesses the fourth-best record in the conference at 7-5. The Gauchos will be back at home this week for Friday and Saturday night matches against Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside.
Notes:
- The Gauchos were without Chanel Hoffman due to a leg injury suffered against Cal Poly on October 28. Hoffman is second on the team with an average of 3.15 kills per set.
- Thanks to Ruddins' big night on the service line, the Gauchos' Big West-leading aces per set average improved to 1.66 for the season. UCSB came into the weekend ranked 20th in the nation at 1.60 aces per set.
- Santa Barbara finished the night with 10 aces, tying its second-highest mark all season.
- Petrachi, the Big West's leader in digs, reached the 20-dig mark for the first time in her last five outings and the sixth time this season. It was the second time this year she reached 20 digs while playing just three sets.
- Bast had a season-high 3.67 digs per set.
- Irvine's Luna Tsujimoto recorded a match-high 22 digs on the night. Her teammate, Shelley Anderson, had the only double-double of the night with 27 assists and 12 digs.
