SAN DIEGO – UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball (1-2) is heading south to partake in the San Diego Invitational hosted by the University of San Diego. Over the course of the three-day tournament, the Gauchos will face No. 16 Arizona State, St. John's and hosts San Diego.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos opened up the regular season at the Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee, Florida, where UC Santa Barbara faced No. 20 Florida State, No. 25 Georgia and South Florida. The Blue and Gold went 1-2 over the course of the weekend, winning in four sets against the Bulls while losing in five sets to the Bulldogs and three sets to Florida State. Andi Kreiling had one of the best performances this weekend for the Gauchos as she hit at a .372 clip while averaging 1.00 blocks per set. Along with that, Eva Travis led the Gauchos in kills, racking up 28 across three matches.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
The first opponent the Gauchos will be facing is No. 16 Arizona State. The Sun Devils moved up one spot in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll this week after taking down Butler, Lipscomb and Cal Baptist. They currently rank third in the NCAA in hitting percentage, boasting an impressive .366 clip, while sitting in 15th in aces, averaging 2.6 per set.
 
St. John's started the season 3-0, winning four-set matches against Northeastern and Coppin State while sweeping Niagara. This Big East team is currently 12th in the NCAA when it comes to opponent hitting percentage as they have held their opponents to a .096 clip. Along with that, they rank in the Top 50 in kills per set (13.73) and blocks per set (2.68).
 
The University of San Diego had a tough opening weekend after receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. They started off against two tough opponents in SMU and Hawai'i, dropping both matches in four sets in Honolulu. Their offense is led by freshmen pin hitters Kennedy Osunsanmi and Isabel Clark, who have 24 and 23 kills, respectively.
 
WHEREABOUTS
The Gauchos will kick off their time in the Jenny Craig Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 6 as they take on  Arizona State at 4 p.m. Then, UC Santa Barbara will move on to face St. John's on Saturday at 3 p.m. On the final day of the tournament, the Gauchos will face the hosts in San Diego at 2 p.m. Fans can watch the Gauchos take on the Toreros on ESPN+. All other matches will only be available through live stats.