MALIBU, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (2-6) was back in action at the Asics Classic hosted by Pepperdine University. On the first day of the tournament, the Gauchos took on the Mavericks of Omaha. It took all five sets to decide who would come out of this match victorious. Despite the Gauchos' best efforts, it was the Mavericks who came out on top as the Blue and Gold lost their third-straight match with scores of 18-25, 25-20, 26-24, 22-25 and 13-15.
 
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"This match did not play out as we would have hoped. There were moments where we were making some great plays and others where we made unforced errors. We really need to clean things up heading into the rest of this weekend."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a slow start for the Gauchos in the first set. Although UC Santa Barbara scored the first two points, Omaha rallied back quickly with a 4-0 run. That's when the Mavericks started pulling ahead. Even with a late run from the Gauchos, they weren't able to pull off a comeback as they dropped the first set 25-18.
 
The Gauchos cleaned things up in the second set as they stayed on par with the Mavericks. With the help of Emma McDermott's six kills and siding out each time Omaha had the serve, UC Santa Barbara chiseled away at their opponent until they grabbed the lead. By the end of the second set, the Blue and Gold secured the 25-20 win over the Mavericks.
 
In the third set, Omaha came out strong as they went on a 4-1 run right off the bat. But just like in the second set, the Gauchos knew they could pull themselves out of their funk. And that's exactly what happened. With the score sitting at 24-19 in favor of their opponents, the Blue and Gold went on a 6-0 scoring run that gave UC Santa Barbara the 26-24 win to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
Neither team could pull away from each other at the start of the fourth set. Every time the Mavericks would secure a lead, the Gauchos would fight right back. It wasn't until the last few points when a team truly started to distance themselves from the other, and that team was Omaha. Their last-second run is ultimately what got them the win as the Gauchos dropped the fourth set 25-22.
 
Just like the fourth set, neither team wanted to let the other pull ahead. It took all 15 points to decide the victor, and with a three-point run at the end, it was the Mavericks who won with a score of 15-13.  
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Eva Travis led all players on the floor tonight in kills as she racked up 19. Along with that, she was a big contributor on defense with 16 digs and three blocks. With this performance, Travis earned the first double-double of her career.
• Emma McDermott contributed heavily in the front row as she was the second Gaucho to earn double-digit kills, securing 16. Along with that, she added on four blocks.  
• Sophie Reavis grabbed the first double-double of her career. She ended the match with 11 kills and 13 digs.
• Harper Hall earned the first double-double of her career as she orchestrated the offense. She notched a career-high 30 assists while adding on 18 digs.
• Madison Triplett served as the primary libero for the Gauchos today. In that performance, she managed to grab 21 digs.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will return to the Firestone Fieldhouse for their toughest test of the season as they take on No. 1 Pittsburgh. First serve will be at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14. For those who can't make it to Malibu, they can watch at home on pepperdinewaves.com or through live stats.