MALIBU, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (2-5) will make their way down the 101 to the campus of Pepperdine University to play in the Asics Classic. During the tournament, the Gauchos will play Omaha, No. 1 Pittsburgh and the Waves.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos played their first match inside The Thunderdome this season as they took on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal. UC Santa Barbara did everything they could to put up a fight against this tough team, but at the end of four sets, it was the Cardinal who came out with the win.
Andi Kreiling had a great showing with nine kills and six blocks while
Eva Travis racked up 13 kills.
MANAGING THE MAVERICKS
Omaha has started their season against some tough opponents, including Houston, Washington State, Oklahoma, Drake, Wyoming, and most recently, Long Beach State. They were swept in three of their matches, went to four with Oklahoma, and went to five with Houston and Washington State.
Middle blocker McKenna Ruch has been one of the most impactful players for Omaha. She is the only one on the roster to start in all six matches and leads the team in kills with 58. Along with that, she leads the team in blocks with 15.
Senior defensive specialist Erica Fava has led the team's back row defensive efforts this year. She currently has the most digs on the team with 77.
This will be the first meeting between the Gauchos and Mavericks.
PERSISTING AGAINST THE PANTHERS
Pittsburgh has moved their way up to the No. 1 spot in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll. They have swept every team they played so far this season including No. 10 Oregon, No. 23 USC, Long Beach State and Buffalo.
Pitt was picked as the best team in the NCAA for a reason. When looking at the stats, they are second when it comes to their opponents' hitting percentage (.103), third in hitting percentage (.333), and fourth in aces per set (2.75).
Individually, Torrey Stafford is 10th in the NCAA when it comes to points as she averages 5.35 per set while teammate Olivia Babcock is 18th as she averages 5.14 per set.
The Gauchos are currently 5-2 overall against Pitt. However, the last two times these teams saw each other, the Panthers came out victorious.
WRANGLING THE WAVES
Pepperdine has played some tough competition heading into this tournament. They opened the season dropping two matches to No. 21 USC before splitting in Honolulu against Hawai'i. They also took on No. 2 Stanford in Malibu this week as they lost in four sets.
Senior outside hitters Grace Chillingworth and Birdie Hendrickson have been crucial to the Waves' offense. They currently have 73 and 68 kills, respectively. The next closest player only has 27 kills.
Libero Trinity Stanger helps the team out in the back row. She currently leads the team in digs as she has 63.
The Gauchos have a record of 31-33 against the Waves. The last time they saw one another was last season when UC Santa Barbara defeated Pepperdine in five sets in the Firestone Fieldhouse.
WHEREABOUTS
All three matches will take place from Friday, Sept. 13 through Sunday, Sept. 15. Fans who can't make it to the Firestone Fieldhouse can watch Friday's match at 4 p.m. against the Mavericks and Saturday's match at 3 p.m. against the Panthers at pepperdinewaves.com. The match between the Gauchos and the Waves will be on ESPN+ on Sunday with first serve at 3 p.m.
