NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team will hit the road for two away matches this week, taking on CSUN on Friday, Oct. 31st and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Nov. 1st.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos broke even this past week, securing an intense win over UC Riverside and narrowly falling short in a battle against UC Davis, the top-ranked team in the Big West.
Despite a 3-2 loss to the Aggies, the Gauchos come off a win on Saturday, Oct. 25, taking three out of four sets against UCR and extending their 9-1 record against the Highlanders in their past 10 match ups. Kiersten Schmitt and Gabi Martinez made an impact in the record book, with Schmitt earning a career-high 17 kills and Martinez fastening a career-high 15 digs.
The Gauchos currently rank fourth in the Big West with a 7-3 conference record as they look ahead to their upcoming matches against No. 5 CSUN and No. 10 Bakersfield.
MORE ABOUT THE MATADORS
The Matadors are coming off two successful away outings this past week against Long Beach State and UC San Diego. With six Big West victories in their first 10 matches, the Matadors are off to their best conference start since 2013 (9-1).
Junior libero Paige Sentes proved herself a force, recording her second career double-double with 22 digs and 10 assists against the Tritons, rising to the top 10 in CSUN's rally scoring history. Offensively, outside hitter Julia Bazylevych dominated with 16 kills per game in the Matadors' last two.
Historically, the Gauchos hold an 82% win record over the Matadors, with their last match being a 3-1 Santa Barbara victory earlier this season.
READING THE ROADRUNNERS
Last week, Bakersfield earned their second Big West home victory against UC San Diego before dropping a 2-3 loss at Long Beach State.
Sophomore Nicole Zake leads the Roadrunners this season with 260 kills, assisted by setter Luiza Da Cruz, who has accumulated 418 assists on the season.
Looking ahead, the Roadrunners host Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara this weekend at the Icardo Center for their second-to-last home stretch of the season.
TUNE IN LIVE
First serve against CSUN happens at 6 p.m. on Friday, followed by Cal State Bakersfield at 4 p.m., Saturday. Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.
