Schedule
Friday, September 30
vs Cal Poly – 7:30 PM (Blue-Out, Free Wig Night)
Thunderdome – Santa Barbara, Calif.
ESPNU
Saturday, October 1
vs CSU Bakersfield – 6:00 PM
Thunderdome – Santa Barbara, Calif.
UCSBGauchos.com
Gauchos on the Air
Friday's Big West home-opener with Cal Poly will be televised live on ESPNU (cable provider required for online stream) and Saturday's matchup will be streamed on UCSBGauchos.com. Links can be found above and on the schedule page. Live stats will also be available for both matches.
Blue-Green Rivalry Coming to ESPNU
The Big West Conference has announced that the Blue-Green Rivalry will be brought to television this fall. ESPNU is set to broadcast the matchup between UCSB and Cal Poly slated for Friday, September 30 in The Thunderdome.
The two central coast rivals have split their regular season meetings in each of the last two seasons including a unique series in 2021 that saw both road teams pick up the win. The Gauchos swept the Mustangs in their own Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo last October, a feat that had not been achieved by any team since 2016.
By season's end UCSB sat one spot ahead of Cal Poly in second place in the conference race with a 21-11 overall record and 17-3 Big West mark. The Mustangs finished in third with records of 15-16, 13-7.
Last Time Out
UCSB opened Big West play last weekend with a pair of five-set wins. The Gauchos topped UC San Diego in its conference home-opener with a dominant fifth-set win by a score of 15-4 and less than 24 hours later handed UC Irvine its first home loss of the season by way of the reverse sweep. The two matches were the first five-set contests of the year for the Gauchos.
Scouting the Competition
The Blue-Green rivalry will be renewed on ESPNU Friday night as the Mustangs of Cal Poly come to town with a 5-7 overall record, but a 2-0 conference mark having topped Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton at home last weekend. They have won five matches in a row with four coming by way of the sweep.
CSU Bakersfield comes to town with a 3-11 overall record having dropped its two matches with the very same teams that Cal Poly defeated. The Roadrunners did not win a set and currently ride a five-match skid. They have yet to win a match at home or on the road with all three wins coming at neutral sites.
Froley and Peed Earn Big West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week Awards
The Big West announced its weekly awards Monday afternoon tabbing Tallulah Froley and Macall Peed the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week. The honors come after a 2-0 start for the Gauchos where Froley and Peed led the team to two five-set wins on the road over UC San Diego and UC Irvine.
Froley was incredible from the right side as she tied her career-high twice with 18 kills in back-to-back matches for a k/s average of .360 on a .360 hitting percentage. On Friday she led all players with her 18 kills vs. UCSD and did so on an efficient .455 clip (18-3-33), while adding three blocks and a dig. On Saturday, she led the Gauchos to a reverse sweep over UC Irvine and handed the Anteaters their first home loss of the season with 18 more on a .286 clip (18-6-42) to go with three digs and two blocks.
Peed was dynamic defensively as she averaged 4.90 digs per set on the weekend and was perfect as a passer posting a 1.000 serve reception percentage on 47 attempts. In Friday's conference opener Peed posted a career-high 30 digs and added an ace and five assists as well against the Tritons. The next night she scooped 19 more digs to neutralize the conference's hitting percentage and kills per set leader, UC Irvine. The Anteaters were held to nearly .100 less than their season average.
This is Froley's second time winning the award and first since 2019. It is also Peed's second honor with her first coming last season.
Ohwobete Bringing the Heat
The reigning Big West Freshman of the Year, Michelle Ohwobete, has picked up right where she left off last season once again proving to be an effective all-around player at the outside hitter position. She currently ranks second on the team with a 2.74 kills per set average and is second behind only starting libero Macall Peed with a 2.48 digs per set average. She is also tasked with a bulk of the team's passing duties and does so brilliantly as she only has five receiving errors this season on 243 attempts for a .979 percentage. If that weren't enough, Ohwobete also leads the team with 19 total aces and a 0.41 per set average.
Peed Plays D
2021 First Team All-Conference selection Macall Peed is once again getting it done on the defensive end for the Gauchos leading the team with a 3.78 digs per set average. She has notched double-digit digs on eight occasions already including a career-high 30 against UC San Diego. In situations that call for it, she has also been a reliable setter tallying 1.15 assists per set.
Dishing It Up
Early on this season the Gauchos have filled their setter needs by committee in their 6-2 offense as Megan Shimoda, Grace McIntosh, and Mehana Ma'a have shared the duties so far. After missing the first weekend of competition, Ma'a came on strong at the Pepperdine Asics Tournament putting together a 5.84 assist per set mark which now paces the team despite playing out of 6-2 offense. Shimoda, who has played the most sets (45) and has the most total assists (201) ranks second with a 4.47 average and McIntosh is just behind her at 3.88.
Gauchos Tabbed to Place Second in Preseason Coaches' Poll
The Big West Conference announced its 2022 Preseason Women's Volleyball Coaches' Poll tabbing UC Santa Barbara to finish second this season in the conference race. The Preseason Coaches' Team was also announced with senior middle blocker Deni Wilson representing the Gauchos.
UCSB earned 94 total points in the poll and five first-place votes, and was only edged out by reigning champion Hawai'i, which garnered 96 points and six first-place votes. This is the highest finish for the Gauchos since the poll began in 2015 and the most first-place votes they have earned. The team was selected third in each of the last two seasons.
Last season the Gauchos finished second in the Big West with a 17-3 conference record and handed both losses to the 18-2 Rainbow Wahine. One was a sweep a home and the other a five-set thriller on the island to close out the season.
Making her first ever preseason team was Wilson, who comes into the season as one of the leaders of the team and is looking to follow up a 2021 campaign that saw her named First Team All-Conference and AVCA All-Region. During that year she topped the Big West with 26 solo blocks and ranked 22nd in the nation with a .391 hitting percentage.
UCSB Earns Eighth Straight USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award
The United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its yearly USMC/AVCA Team Academic Awards, naming the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team to its ranks for the eighth consecutive year. A total of 1,213 programs were honored across all levels of the sport from high school to Division I.
UCSB is one of just 38 DI programs to have made the list the last eight years in a row and are the sole Big West team to make the list eight times.
The award honors volleyball programs that maintain a year-long grade-point average (GPA) of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale, or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. The Gauchos posted a 3.525 this past Spring Quarter.
