TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (1-2) was back in action for the final day of the Seminole Invitational as they took on the Bulls of South Florida. Following today's four-set match, the Gauchos are returning to Santa Barbara with a win as they took down the Bulls 25-19, 25-21, 24-26 and 25-21.
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"The team blocked well and served tough. Of course, it would've been nice to not have the sloppy third set, but it was important to get our first win today. We learned a lot this weekend and are excited to get back to work this week as we prepare for our second tournament."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out strong, taking an early lead over the Bulls. Every time South Florida would get the ball, UC Santa Barbara would side out right away, keeping their opponents from gaining any momentum. Although the Bulls tried to go on a late run, the Blue and Gold stopped them in their tracks as the Gauchos took the first set 25-19.
 
The second set told a similar story as UC Santa Barbara came out strong from the very first point. Even though the Bulls hung with them through the first 10 points, it was UC Santa Barbara who ultimately pulled away thanks to service runs from their two setters Harper Hall and Grace McIntosh. And just like the first set, the Bulls tried to rally back for the win. Ultimately, they fell short in this set as well as the Gauchos came out with the 25-21 win.  
 
Once the third set began, the Bulls picked up their pace. They hung with the Gauchos from the start, but with numerous errors by the Gauchos, the Bulls plowed ahead by six points. That was until Sophie Reavis went to the service line. She grabbed back-to-back aces to get the Gauchos within two, which then gave her team the momentum to tie up the match at 22 apiece. These two teams exchanged blows for a few more points until South Florida pieced together back-to-back points, which ultimately led to them taking the third set 26-24 over the Gauchos.
 
Both teams came out on fire in the fourth set as the Bulls kept their winning hopes alive while the Gauchos worked to suppress their opponent. South Florida picked up where they left off, going on a six-point run to start off the set. But with the help of freshmen Eva Travis, Madison Triplett and Hall from the service line, UC Santa Barbara put themselves right back into this set. And that's when the Gauchos really ran away with it. UC Santa Barbara went on a 9-2 run that gave them all the space they needed to take this fourth and final set with a score of 25-21.   
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Eva Travis led the Gauchos on offense yet again, contributing eight kills. Not only that, but she also added on four digs, two blocks and an ace.
• Sophie Reavis had a stellar performance from the service line. She set a new career-high when it comes to aces, racking up four. Along with that, Reavis secured seven kills, four digs and three blocks.
• Andi Kreiling contributed greatly to the team's efforts again in this match. She registered seven kills with only two errors to hit at a.333 clip while adding on four blocks.
• Along with Kreiling, Layanna Green had a great defensive performance in the front row. She finished today's match with five blocks, one of which was a solo block.
• Cortni Youngblood led the defense, racking up her first double-digit match with 10 digs.
• The Gauchos' front row defense was on point during today's match. They out-blocked the Bulls 11.5 blocks to 3.0, causing South Florida to hit at a .168 clip on the day.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will return to the state of California and make their way to the San Diego Invitational hosted by the University of San Diego. UC Santa Barbara's first match of the weekend will be against No. 17 Arizona State on Friday, Sept. 5 at 4 p.m. More information on these matches will come in the following days.