SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (14-2) was back in The Thunderdome to continue Big West play against the UC Irvine Anteaters. It only took the Gauchos three sets to take down the Anteaters (25-12, 25-15, 25-12) to stay undefeated in The Thunderdome this season.
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"We flipped the script pretty hard compared to how we played last night. It felt like everything broke our way. The team was very disciplined with the scouting report. The blocking was really tight. The setters did a really great job of creating a balanced offense. Overall, it was a fun match to watch.  
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
At the start of this match, both the Anteaters and the Gauchos exchanged points, neither team being able to pull ahead. That was until Grace McIntosh went back to the service line. She took the Gauchos on a 10-point run to give her team a phenomenal 17-7 edge. The Anteaters had no answer to Santa Barbara, and that resulted in the first set ending in a 25-12 result, the largest margin of victory for the Gauchos this season.
 
From there, the Gauchos continued to keep their foot on the gas for the next two sets, not letting UC Irvine back into this match thanks to the front row defense. The Gauchos totaled 24 blocks across all three sets, giving little for the back row to do. Even with that, the defense picked up those balls, preventing the Anteaters from scoring. The Gauchos held UC Irvine to a .024 hitting percentage, which helped the home team secure a 25-15 win in the second set and another 25-12 win in the third. This was the team's seventh sweep of the season as they remain undefeated in Big West play.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Michelle Ohwobete led the team's offensive efforts tonight yet again, putting up 12 kills with only one error on 23 swings for a .478 hitting percentage. To go along with that, she added to the team's defensive efforts with three blocks and five digs.
• Three other Gauchos hit above .400 tonight, and they were Sophie Reavis, Tasia Farmer and Andi Kreiling. All four of these strong offensive performances helped the Gauchos hit at a .408 clip, their most efficient match of the season.
• Kreiling not only hit at a .600 clip with six kills and no errors on 10 swings, but she also led the front row defense. Her and teammate Farmer were a wall in the front row as she contributed eight blocks while Farmer added five.
• Grace Wuischpard was a huge part of the team's efforts tonight. She was tied for the most digs on the team with six while also being one of the team's leaders in aces, notching three. She also assisted in the front row with three blocks.
• McIntosh and Michelle Zhao were the team's two setters tonight. McIntosh tallied 18 assists while Zhao added 12. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road, starting their weekend of play on Thursday, Oct. 5 against UC Riverside before making their way north to face UC Davis on Saturday, Oct. 7. First serve will be at 7 p.m. against the Highlanders and 1 p.m. against the Aggies. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.