SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (6-9) returned to The Thunderdome for their second weekend of Big West play, kicking things off against the Highlanders of UC Riverside. It only took three sets to decide the winner, and the team that came out with the sweep was UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos grabbed the win over the Highlanders with scores of 25-15, 25-16 and 25-15.
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"Tonight was our first home conference match. We were on the road a lot to start this year so it's nice to be back in our own gym. It was a pretty clean match on our side. We talked a little bit in the locker room about wanting to serve a little more efficiently as our error count was a little higher than we would have liked, but we had a good, balanced offense this evening, so credit to our setters and to our hitters for making good decisions."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out swinging from the very first point. With the home team accumulating a .545 hitting percentage in this set alone, they were able to grab a big lead over the Highlanders. By the end of the first set, UC Santa Barbara closed out the first set with a score of 25-15.
 
The second set started off in favor of the Highlanders due to some early hitting errors from UC Santa Barbara. However, it didn't take long for the Gauchos to respond. With the help of both Harper Hall and Michelle Zhao from the service line, UC Santa Barbara brought themselves right back into this set and even began to take a comfortable lead. By the time the second set ended, the Gauchos came out on top with a score of 25-16.  
 
UC Riverside did not want to give up this match without a fight. They came out strong in this third set, going on a five-point run to take an early lead. However, Zhao continued to apply pressure at the service line to get the Highlanders out of system, resulting in the Gauchos taking the lead. This is when UC Santa Barbara's offense lit up yet again. With Eva Travis getting seven kills with no errors in this set alone, the Gauchos finished out this set on top as they grabbed their second Big West win with a score of 25-15.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Eva Travis did it again as one of the best offensive weapons in this match. She racked up 14 kills with only two errors on 27 swings, contributing a .444 hitting percentage. Along with that, she added on nine digs and an ace.
• Sophie Reavis also shined as an outside hitter for the Gauchos. She ended the match with 14 kills while only making three errors on 25 swings to hit at a .440 clip.
• Emma McDermott was the third Gaucho to earn double-digit kills in tonight's match. She secured 12 kills on the right side while hitting at a .409 clip.
• Harper Hall continued as the starting setter in the team's 6-2 offense. She ended the match with her third career double-double, notching 28 assists and 12 digs.
• Layanna Green is on a hot streak as of late. On offense, she contributed a .625 hitting percentage with five kills and no errors on eight swings. Along with that, she led the team's defensive efforts in the front row as she snagged two solo blocks.
• Angie Dentoni has embraced her role as the team's starting libero. She finished tonight's match with 14 digs. She also helped the team from the service line with an ace.

UP NEXT
It will be a quick turnaround for the Gauchos as they are back in The Thunderdome tomorrow, Oct. 5, at 4 p.m. against the UC Davis Aggies. For those who can't make it to Santa Barbara, a live stream will be available through ESPN+.