SALT LAKE CITY (Sept. 7, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (5-1) is back in action after a week off from competition as they head to the Utah Classic in Salt Lake City. There, the Gauchos will face the University of San Francisco, the University of Utah and Tennessee State University.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos had a busy weekend, starting their road trip in Malibu against Pepperdine University. The Waves took the first two sets, but UC Santa Barbara rallied from behind to complete the reverse sweep on the road for their fourth-straight sweep of the season.
 
From there, the Gauchos kept moving south as they ended up at the San Diego State Invitational. During their two days in the Aztecs' home gym, UC Santa Barbara took a 3-0 loss to No. 6 Oregon before sweeping San Diego State.
 
Macall Peed had a phenomenal weekend that ended with Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors as she earned her first career double-double against the Waves while averaging 5.45 digs per set on the weekend. Michelle Ohwobete was the offensive leader for the Gauchos, earning double-digit kills in all three matches.

DOMINATING THE DONS

• The University of San Francisco is coming into this weekend following three straight losses against UTEP, New Mexico State and Arizona State. The Dons took the matches to four sets against UTEP and Arizona State, but lost in a thrilling five-setter to the Aggies. Their only two wins of this young season came against New Mexico and Big West institution UC Irvine.
• The outside hitters have been the biggest offensive weapons for the Dons. Senior Karolina Nova and junior Maria Petkova put up the most kills on the team, notching 53 and 52, respectively.
• The defense is anchored by sophomore libero Abby Wadas, who currently has 93 digs on the season. The middle blockers, junior Hayden Goodman and sophomore Lindsay Oldendorf, set up the defense in the front row as they each have 18 blocks on the season.
• San Francisco is led by coach Diogo Silva, who is in his third season with the team. He was just shy of earning a .500-win percentage last season following an 0-25 record in 2021.

HANDLING THE UTES

• The University of Utah is starting the season with a 2-3 record, defeating the likes of NC State and UNLV, while dropping matches to in-state opponents Utah Valley and Utah State along with a road loss at Portland State.
• Utah has only played UC Santa Barbara once in its history, and that was all the way back in 1983. The Gauchos won 3-0 at a neutral site.
• The Utes play in a strong volleyball conference in the Pac-12, and outside hitter Lauren Jardine is leading the offense. She is 38th in the NCAA and fifth in the Pac-12 when it comes to points, averaging 4.70 per set. She is also 45th in the NCAA and fourth in the Pac-12 for kills per set with a 4.07 average.
• The team's defense is led by senior libero Vanessa Ramirez, who currently has 76 digs on the season. The front row defense is held down by sophomore middle blocker KJ Burgess, who has the most blocks on the team with 15.
• The Utes are coached by Beth Launiere, who spent her entire 34-year coaching career at Utah. She has accumulated an overall record of 640-403 during that time. 

TAMING THE TIGERS

• Tennessee State University has not won a match yet this season after losing to tough teams in Murray State, Cleveland State, Ole Miss and Lipscomb.
• The defense for the Tigers has been one of the strongest parts of their game. They are led by Kennedy Davis in the front row, who ranks third in Ohio Valley Conference in blocks with 1.00 per set. Celianiz Cabranes has been the backbone of the back row defense, averaging 4.14 digs per set to rank fourth in the OVC.
• There are four Tigers that have more than 20 kills on the season. Outside hitter Celestial Miller has the most with 24 followed by middle blocker Gabrielle Johnson with 23. The other two offensive pieces for Tennessee State are middle blocker Aleksandra Rojecka and outside hitter Jayla Holcombe, who have 21 and 20 kills, respectively.
• The Tigers are coached by Donika Sutton, who is in her seventh season with the program. She is coming off a 19-16 record for the 2022 season, which was the first time the Tigers finished above .500 since she took over the program in 2017. 

WHEREABOUTS
The Gauchos will play their first two matches of the Utah Classic on Friday, Sept. 8, starting with San Francisco at 9 a.m. PT followed by a match against Utah at 6 p.m. PT. On Saturday, the Gauchos will hit the court for the final time this weekend, taking on Tennessee State at 12:30 p.m. PT. All three matches will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network with live stats available through StatBroadcast.