SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (10-13) kicked off the sixth week of Big West play as they took on the Cal Poly Mustangs in the second leg of the Blue-Green Rivalry. It only took three sets to figure out who was coming out of this set on top, and for this one, it was the Mustangs who grabbed the win as the Gauchos lost this match with scores of 23-25, 20-25 and 24-26.
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"We failed to execute our scouting report tonight. They swung themselves out of some situations. Stockham was pretty unreal for them and carried a lot of the load tonight. Even with that, they made perfect high-hand swings and we didn't execute our side of the scouting report. We will get back to work tomorrow."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start for the Gauchos as they could not get in a rhythm during the first 10 points as Cal Poly hit at an impressive .450 clip. Once the Gauchos woke up, it was a very different match. With the help of Eva Travis and Emma McDermott, the Gauchos put themselves within two, refusing to back down. They continued this way through the remainder of the set, staying within arms' reach of the Mustangs. However, it wasn't enough to grab the win as the Gauchos dropped this one 25-23.
 
The second set started off strong for UC Santa Barbara as they secured an early lead over the Mustangs. The Gauchos continued to build on this lead as the set went on, growing it to four with the help of Grace Wuischpard's six kills. Even with this run, the Mustangs were ready for the test. Cal Poly came back with a five-point run that gave them the lead. By the end of the second set, the Mustangs came out on top with a score of 25-20.
 
With the match on the line, the Gauchos had to pick up the pace against this tough Cal Poly team. These two teams went point-for-point to start off the set with neither team being able to pull ahead of the other. However, the Mustangs weren't going to let that happen for long. They came back quickly with a 7-1 run, taking the lead over the Gauchos. This is when UC Santa Barbara battled back with their own run that included two service aces from Cortni Youngblood, tying up the score. These teams continued to duke it out as they went into extra points. But in the final two points, the Mustangs pulled ahead of the Gauchos as UC Santa Barbara dropped the third and final set with a score of 26-24.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Eva Travis had a stellar night for the Gauchos on offense. She finished the night with 18 kills while only registering three errors on 36 swings to hit at a .317 clip. Along with that, she added on seven digs, two blocks and an ace.
• Emma McDermott also had an impressive night on the pin. She ended the match with 13 kills with only one error on 27 swings to hit at a .444 clip.
• Harper Hall orchestrated the team's offensive efforts as the starting setter in the team's 6-2 offense. She finished the night with 25 assists.
• Two Gauchos finished with double-digit digs, and they were Sophie Reavis and Grace McIntosh. They grabbed 11 and 10 digs, respectively.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will hit the road as they make their way to Honolulu to take on the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine. First serve in the Stan Sheriff Center will be at 10 p.m. PT. For those who can't make it in person can watch through ESPN+.