SALT LAKE CITY (Sept. 8, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (7-1) kicked off the Utah Classic with two matches, starting the day against the University of San Francisco before taking on the University of Utah. At the end of the, the Gauchos ended up going 2-0 on the day, winning a five-set match against the Dons (25-20, 25-18, 25-21, 25-19, 17-15) and another five-set thriller against the Utes (25-18, 25-22, 25-17, 25-17, 22-20).
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"We love the team's ability to stay mentally engaged throughout the ups and downs of matches. The first match was a little bit ugly on both sides I thought, but we groveled and got it done despite not really finding a clean rhythm. The Utah match was a completely different story. There was really high-level volleyball on both sides and a good crowd, so it was a whole different kind of emotional wave. But we were able to stay steady and execute in big moments.  Now, it's important we get some rest and leave these behind as we move onto the next task ahead of us tomorrow."
 
MATCH 1: GAUCHOS VS DONS
Fans could tell it would be a battle between these California teams. The Dons and the Gauchos tied the score four times during the first five points, but that didn't dishearten the Blue and Gold. From there, UC Santa Barbara pulled ahead, keeping USF at arms' length with a four-point lead throughout most of the set. Despite San Francisco's best efforts, they couldn't bounce back as UC Santa Barbara took the first set 25-20.
 
The Dons came back with a vengeance. San Francisco took the early lead, and even though the Gauchos tied things up at 10-10, they couldn't hold on. USF pushed ahead and never let the Gauchos back in, resulting in a 25-18 loss in the second set.
 
The third set was a much closer fight between these two teams. The Gauchos and the Dons exchanged serve multiple times during this set, keeping the score close all the way until the final four points. That's when San Francisco pulled away. UC Santa Barbara could not find their rhythm to attempt a comeback, causing this set to end in a 25-21 loss for Santa Barbara.
 
Playing down a set, the Gauchos needed to fight back. In this fourth set, that is exactly what they did. Even though San Francisco started with the lead, UC Santa Barbara retaliated quickly, going on a five-point service run led by freshman Milan Rex. This gave the Gauchos the much-needed push to take this fourth set 25-19.
 
The rest of the match relied on this one set to 15 points, and neither team wanted to give it up. As soon as one team would pull ahead, the other would fight right back. This trend carried all the way to the very last points. The Dons were in a place that seemed like they would win this match as they were up 15-14 late in the set, but that's when the Gauchos switched to another gear. With three straight kills from Sophie Reavis, Michelle Ohwobete and Briana McKnight, the Gauchos finished the comeback, taking the final set 17-15 over the Dons to win their sixth match of the season.
 
MATCH 2: GAUCHOS VS UTES
This first set did not start in favor of the Gauchos. Utah's block seemed to be impenetrable as the Utes grabbed nine in the first set alone. Despite Santa Barbara's work to make a comeback, the Utes wrapped up the first set, defeating the Gauchos 25-18.
 
From there, the second set proved to be a true test for Santa Barbara against this Power Five program. These two teams tied the score 13 times before McKnight put up a kill to give her team the 19-18 edge late in the set. She then went on a service run that grew the Gauchos' lead. Before anyone knew it, UC Santa Barbara took the second set 25-22 to even up the match.
 
Then the third set came around. The Gauchos dominated their opponent, never letting Utah take the lead. With Ohwobete leading the offense and Peed anchoring the defense, UC Santa Barbara cruised to a 25-17 win in the third set, going up 2-1 in the match. The roles reversed in the fourth as Utah returned the favor. The Utes took an early lead, and even though the Gauchos fought back towards the end of the set, the deficit was too great to surpass Utah, resulting in a 25-17 loss in the fourth set.
 
This was the second five-set match of the day for the Gauchos as they were ready to earn their first win over a Power Five institution this season. Neither team would let the other get more than two points ahead. The fifth set was supposed to go to 15, but that wasn't enough points to decide a winner as neither team wanted to drop this hard-fought match. However, the Gauchos' played a cleaner fifth set, making no service errors and only two hitting errors compared to the Utes, who made three errors from the service line to go along with eight hitting errors. This helped UC Santa Barbara win the fifth and final set 22-20.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Peed has done it yet again, finishing with double-digit digs in both matches. In the first match of the day against San Francisco, she cranked out another double-double with 32 digs and 10 assists, the second of her career. She also added on 20 digs against Utah.
• Ohwobete put up her own double-doubles today. She ended both matches with double-digit kills and digs, earning 17 kills and 11 digs against San Francisco while notching 15 kills and 15 digs against Utah.
• Tasia Farmer was a huge part of the team's wins today. She finished both matches with double-digit kills while totaling 13 blocks across the entire day.
• Grace Wuischpard was the most efficient hitter for the Gauchos. She ended the day with a .417 hitting percentage, earning a total of 12 kills with only two errors across both matches. Along with that, she helped the front row defensive efforts with six blocks,
• Andi Kreiling continues to shine for the Blue and Gold. Her blocking kept the Gauchos in these matches as she contributed eight against San Francisco and nine against Utah.   

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will play their final game of this tournament tomorrow, Sept. 9 at 12:30 p.m. PT, as they take on the Tennessee State Tigers. Fans can follow along with all of the action with a live stream on the Pac-12 Network or through live stats on StatBroadcast.