SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Aug. 27, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (3-0) wrapped up the final day of The Thunderdome Classic as the Gauchos took on the University of North Florida Ospreys. It only took three sets to decide the victor, and today, it was UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos completed their third sweep of the weekend against North Florida (25-18, 25-15, 25-23) to start the season 3-0.
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"I usually talk about the team, but it's hard to ignore 12-for-15 with no errors, so it's a really special day for Andi Kreiling, but really, it's about the team executing as a group. We came in thinking there was a way they went about defending the middles, so we thought running our middles would work well, and our scouting report worked. And for those that know volleyball, it's a team effort. We couldn't run the middles as well as we did without a good pass. It's just another night where we executed in close sets and I give credit to the team for their discipline."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
From the first serve, the Gauchos had control of the set. Macall Peed put up the first service run to push Santa Barbara ahead by two. With Michelle Ohwobete leading the offense with four kills in this set, the Gauchos extended their lead to seven as the home team won the first set 25-18.
 
No one could stop the Gauchos from there. UC Santa Barbara, with the help of Andi Kreiling's four kills, picked up where they left off in the first set. Not only did the offense pick up the pace, but the defense had a stellar performance as Grace Wuischpard contributed three blocks and Briana McKnight added five digs in this set alone. This whole-team effort ended with the Gauchos on top, securing a 25-15 win.
 
In this third and final set, the Gauchos started on top again. They came out on fire, earning a five-point lead early on. However, the Ospreys did not want to go down without a fight. North Florida put together a five-point run to tie up the game and eventually take the lead. But with an Osprey service error and back-to-back kills from Kreiling and Sophie Reavis, Santa Barbara finished out the match on top, taking the third and final set 25-23.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Kreiling's performance was one of the best for the Gauchos. The middle blocker finished the match with 12 kills and no errors on 15 swings, giving her an .800 hitting percentage on the day. Today, along with the rest of her stellar performances throughout the weekend, earned Kreiling a spot on the All-Tournament team.
• Also securing spots on the All-Tournament team were Peed, who finished the match with 19 digs to go along with her two other double-digit dig matches, and Ohwobete, who finished as the tournament MVP as a six-rotation outside hitter.
• Milan Rex and Grace McIntosh continued to lead the team's offensive efforts. Rex ended today's match with the most assists, tallying 16, while McIntosh added on 13. Wuischpard finished the match hitting 1.000, going four-for-four on offense with no errors. Along with that, she was a huge part of the defensive efforts, notching four blocks.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will be on the road for the next month, starting this stint of away matches going down the 101 to Pepperdine University. This match is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. in Malibu with a live stream available through ESPN+.