LONG BEACH, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (27-3) is the No. 1 seed heading into The Big West Championships, earning a bye to the semifinal round. Now, the Gauchos will take on the No. 4 seed in Long Beach State in hopes of making it to The Big West Finals on Saturday with a bid to the NCAA Championships on the line.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos hosted their final match of the regular season as they took on the Highlanders of UC Riverside. UC Santa Barbara came out hot, taking down Riverside in three sets.
 
BATTLING THE BEACH
Long Beach State came into the tournament as the No. 4 seed following the tie breaker. They took down the No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters in a five-set thriller to move onto the semifinals against the Gauchos.
 
All-Big West Second Team honoree Elise Agi led the Beach in their win over UC Irvine just as she has the rest of the season. The junior outside hitter currently leads the team in total kills with 324.
 
The Beach had one player earn a major award this year. Zayna Meyer was The Big West's Setter of the Year while also earning a spot on the All-Big West First Team after notching 1,071 assists throughout the season.
 
Also earning a spot on the All-Big West first team was Katie Kennedy. The senior outside hitter was one of the most efficient hitters in the conference, recording a .352 hitting percentage.
 
The Beach are coached by Tyler Hildebrand, who is in his second season with the program. Prior to this position, he was the associate head coach at Nebraska, helping the team to three Elite Eight appearances.
 
WHEREABOUTS
First serve will be at 4 p.m. at The Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State. For those who can't make it to Long Beach, they can watch online through ESPN+.