SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Nov. 25, 2022) – The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team (20-10, 16-4) hosted their final game of the regular season in The Thunderdome this evening as the Gauchos took on the Rainbow Wahine of the University of Hawai'i. This five-set thriller lasted two and a half hours in Santa Barbara as the two teams exchanged sets throughout the evening. By the end of the fifth set, it was Hawai'i who came out on top as UC Santa Barbara lost 3-2 with scores of 25-23, 25-20, 28-26, 25-18 and 15-11. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out on fire. They hit a match-high .441 compared to the Wahine's .286 to help push them ahead in this set. However, Hawai'i made a push at the end of the set, which put UC Santa Barbara's win in jeopardy. However, with the help Tallulah Froley and Michelle Ohwobete, the Gauchos were able to secure a 25-23 first set win to go up 1-0 on the top team in The Big West. 

From there, the Wahine wanted vengeance. They came out swinging in the second set with an even stronger block as they kept the Gauchos to only 10 kills with five errors while only siding out 11 times on 25 attempts. Despite the disadvantages, UC Santa Barbara was able to fight back towards the end of the set. Even with the fight, it wasn't enough to take the set as the Bows took the second set 25-20 to tie up the series heading into the break.

Once the Gauchos were back on the court, they came back with a new renewed spirit. UC Santa Barbara took the lead early in the set thanks to service runs from Briana McKnight, Ohwobete and Sophie Messinger, they pulled ahead by as many as eight points. Even with a lead like this, the Wahine are a good enough team to slowly battle back. With their libero at the service line, Hawai'i started to chip away at UC Santa Barbara's lead, ultimately getting within one. For the rest of the set, the Gauchos and Wahine went back and forth until it was into extra points. Even with the battle, UC Santa Barbara came out of the fourth set as the better team, winning 28-26 over the Rainbow Wahine.

The Gauchos and Wahine continued going back and forth with one another for the first half of the fourth set. Once their setter got to the service line, she pulled her team ahead of the Gauchos to a point where UC Santa Barbara could not recover. This gave Hawai'i the 25-18 win in the fourth and the equalizing set, taking the match to five.

After the coin flip for side and serve, the two teams returned to the court to battle it out for a chance at The Big West title. This battle went back and forth, with the score at 8-7 when the Gauchos and Wahine switched sides. However, that's when Hawai'i pulled away, resulting in a 15-11 score against the Gauchos and a 3-2 loss in the match. 

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Four Gauchos ended the game with double-digit points, including Ohwobete. She led the team in kills with 17 while also grabbing three blocks. Along with her, Froley played her final match in The Thunderdome, hitting .441 with 16 kills and only one error. The other two Gauchos with double-digit kills were Tasia Farmer and McKnight. Farmer hit a team-high .519 with 15 kills and only one error while McKnight had 10 kills and nine digs.
• Registering a double-double in her last game in the Blue and Gold was Mehana Ma'a. The senior setter ended the match with 33 assists while also adding on 13 digs.
• Both Macall Peed and Nia Correal led the defense in different ways. Peed took control in the back row, racking up 20 digs on the night while also adding two aces from the service line. Correal handled the front row defense, topping the team with five blocks.

IN CONCLUSION
The Gauchos finished the regular season with a 20-10 overall record and 16-4 Big West record. The team celebrated their seniors Froley, Ma'a, Messinger, Kristina Pepek, Megan Shimoda and Deni Wilson following their final game in The Thunderdome.