DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team dropped a back and forth battle  at UC Davis Thursday night. The Gauchos bounced back after falling in the first and third set but could not pull out the come-from-behind victory.

FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"I like how the team responded well after sets one and three," said Jones. It was a good battle against a good team on their home floor. We have to reset and go get a win at Riverside to secure our spot in the Conference Championships."

HOW IT HAPPENED
In the first set between UC Santa Barbara and UCD, the Aggies took an early lead, capitalizing on a series of errors by UC Santa Barbara. Despite a push from UC Santa Barbara, featuring kills from Andi Kreiling, the Aggies maintained control. UCD secured the set with a final score of 25-17.

In the second set, UC Santa Barbara took an early lead with a kill by Andi Kreiling followed by a service error by the Aggies. The teams exchanged points through the middle of the set. UC Santa Barbara gained momentum towards the end, capitalizing on several errors by the Aggies. Eva Travis secured the final point for the Gauchos with a kill, concluding the set with a 25-19 victory.

In the third set, UCD emerged victorious with a 25-18 score. The set began with UC Davis taking an early lead, with successful plays. The Aggies extended their lead with a series of kills resulting in a 6-2 advantage. UC Santa Barbara narrowed the gap midway through the set with a streak that included kills from Andi Kreiling and Emma McDermott, bringing the score to 14-12. However, UC Davis regained momentum with a finishing run, and secured the set win by a score of 25-18.

The fourth set began with the Aggies gaining an early 3-1 lead. However, UC Santa Barbara quickly responded, leveling the score at 3-3 with a kill by Eva Travis and continued to maintain a tight contest until the midway point. The Gauchos then pulled ahead with a series of blocks and kills, including a critical block by Emma McDermott and Sophie Reavis, which helped them to a 10-8 advantage. The Blue and Gold extended their lead further with effective plays, notably a kill by Sophie Reavis and a service ace by Grace Wuischpard, eventually closing the set with a 25-18 win over UC Davis.

In the fifth set, UC Santa Barbara initially took control with a 3-0 lead, capitalizing on attack errors and efficient plays, including consecutive kills by Andi Kreiling. UC Davis responded with a strong run, tying the score at 5-5 and then pulling ahead to 8-5. The Aggies extended their lead to 12-7, benefiting from multiple attack errors by UC Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, the Aggies secured the set with a final score of 15-8.

UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara will travel to UC Riverside on Saturday, Nov. 23. First serve between the Gauchos and Highlanders will be at 4 p.m. in Riverside, California. For those unable to make the trip, the match will be streamed on ESPN+