Box Score NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Head coach Nicole Lantagne Welch recorded her 100th career win at UCSB after the Gauchos swept past CSUN 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-22) on Saturday night in the Matadome.
Lantagne Welch, in the midst of her seventh season at Santa Barbara, earns win No. 100 at the helm of Gauchos, while boasting an overall career record of 343-214 (.616 winning percentage) in 19 seasons (previous 12 at Miami).
The win snaps a season-long three-match losing streak for UCSB (20-5, 10-4 Big West), who captured its 20th win of the season, the most since the Gauchos won 22 in 2009. CSUN, meanwhile, falls to 12-15 overall and 7-8 in conference play with the loss.
Bouncing back from a loss at Long Beach on Friday, Santa Barbara came out red-hot with 16 kills on .406 hitting, and used a 7-1 run late to pull away for a 25-18 opening set win. The second set started out in seesaw fashion before, with UCSB up 12-10, the Gauchos broke away on a 6-1 run highlighted by a pair of kills from Rowan Ennis. Despite a 6-1 run in response from CSUN, UCSB was able to hold off the Matadors down the stretch thanks to a trio of kills from Tallulah Froley. Another 7-1 run midway through the third set helped the Gauchos pull away for the sweep, and Ennis put it in the books with a kill on an assist from Olivia Lovenberg to seal the match.
UCSB out-hit the Matadors in every set, and finished with a .248 percentage compared to .175 for CSUN. The Gauchos also recorded more digs (60-52), assists (46-32), and aces (3-1), while the Matadors won the battle at the net with 17 blocks to UCSB's 13.
Froley led UCSB with 13 kills on .300 hitting while Ennis tallied 12 on an extremely efficient .526 clip while Lindsey Ruddins finished with seven kills. Lovenberg and Romoni Vivao distributed the offense all night to the tune of 22 and 17 assists, respectively, and Zoe Fleck had a strong all-around match with 19 digs and seven assists. Ruddins added 11 digs of her own and Deni Wilson led the team with five blocks to go with her five kills on .400 hitting.
Seyvion Waggoner paced CSUN with 10 kills.
With just two matches remaining, UCSB returns to the Thunderdome on Friday, Nov. 22 to take on Cal State Fullerton at 7:00 p.m. Senior night will commence the following evening on Saturday, Nov. 23 against UC Irvine, also at 7:00 p.m.
