SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team is headed into their final home matches of the season, hosting Cal Poly on Thursday and Hawai'i on Friday, which will be Senior Night. The Gauchos will honor four graduating athletes following Friday's match – Layanna Green, Sophie Reavis, Grace Wuischpard, and Michelle Zhao.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos look to finish their home season strong after splitting their matches last weekend with a 0-3 loss to UC San Diego, followed by a 3-1 win over Long Beach State.
Outside hitter Gabi Martinez led the Gauchos with 35 kills on the weekend, earning her third Big West Freshman of the Week honor. Freshman middle blocker Jordyn Johnson made her presence known at the net with 12 blocks on the weekend.
With the win against Long Beach State, the Gauchos now stand at third in the Big West with a 10-4 conference record as they prepare to take on No. 2 Cal Poly and No. 6 Hawai'i.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
The Mustangs come into Thursday's match on a 10-game win streak after beating Long Beach State 3-0 and UC San Diego 3-1 at home last weekend. The Mustangs avenged their only two losses in the Big West, improving their conference record to 12-2.
The Mustangs will look to feed outside hitter pair Emma Fredrick and Kendall Beshear, who lead the team in kills. With 9.3 assists per set, 3-time All Big West setter Emme Bullis is second in the Big West in assists per set and will run the offense for the Mustangs.
The Blue-Green rivalry adds another installment this Thursday, with a 17-22 record over the series for the Gauchos. In their last meeting, the Gauchos narrowly lost in an intense five-set match.
READING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
The Rainbow Wahine come into Friday's match after a strong weekend at home, beating CSUN 3-0 and CSU Bakersfield 3-1 to improve their conference record to 7-7.
They will look to freshman outside hitter Cha'lei Reid, who leads the Rainbow Wahine with 3.4 kills per set. Middle blocker Bri Gunderson is averaging 1.16 blocks per set and will look to be a defensive presence at the net.
The Gauchos will look to improve a 7-18 all-time series record against the Rainbow Wahine, with their last showdown resulting in a 3-1 victory for the Gauchos.
FOLLOW ALONG
First serve against Cal Poly is set for 7 p.m. this Thursday, November 13th, followed by Senior Night against Hawai'i on Friday, November 14th, which also begins at 7 p.m. Fans can tune in to watch the matches live on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats through ucsbgauchos.com.
