BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (4-8) will kick off Big West play this weekend as they hit the road to take on the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners and CSUN Matadors.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos had a strong showing at the K-State Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas. Over the course of the tournament, UC Santa Barbara grabbed two sweeps against Kansas State and Oklahoma.
Eva Travis had the best showing for the Gauchos as she was named as the tournament's MVP, contributing 4.33 kills and 5.17 points per set. Along with Travis,
Andi Kreiling and
Emma McDermott landed on the All-Tournament team.
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Cal State Bakersfield is coming into conference play with a 6-6 record. Their most recent win came in five sets over Fresno State, who earned the Mountain West's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Roadrunners are a tough serving team. They currently rank 53rd in the NCAA in this stat category, accumulating 80 aces so far this season. This is thanks to senior middle blocker Samia Bhatka, who is 38th in the NCAA when it comes to service aces as she has 21 of the team's 80.
On offense, sophomore Sydney Dunning has been the bigget impact. The outside hitter currently leads the team in kills with 164. The next closest Roadrunner is senior outside hitter Paige Dugan, who has 95 kills on the season. The leader on defense for Bakersfield is Katerina Georgiadis. She has the most digs on the team with 162.
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
CSUN is heading into this match with a 5-6 record, most recently taking down Portland in back-to-back matches. They have also beaten Cal Baptist, San Francisco and San Diego State this season.
The Matadors have some efficient setters. They are currently 40th in the country when it comes to assists, racking up 563 so far this season. This is thanks to setter Katie Kolar, who is 12th in the NCAA in assists with 468. To go along with that, CSUN is also 56th in the NCAA when it comes to kill, putting up 595 so far this season.
Outside hitters Amaris Smith and Hailey Brockway are the offensive leaders for the Matadors. Smith leads the team with 172 kills while Brockway is close behind with 149. Paige Sentes helps CSUN out on defense. She currently leads the team in digs as she accumulated 209 so far this season.
WHEREABOUTS
The first of these two matches will take place at the Icardo Center on the campus of Cal State Bakersfield on Friday, Sept. 27. First serve will be at 6 p.m. The Gauchos will then head to Northridge to take on the Matadors on Saturday, Sept. 28. First serve for that match will be at 4 p.m. For anyone who can't make it to watch, they can follow along through ESPN+.
