SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team put on a thrilling edition of the Blue-Green Rivalry tonight, toppling the Cal Poly Mustangs 3-2 after a tense five-set match.
Cal Poly is undefeated at home this season, but evidently not on the road. Tonight, the Gauchos handed the Mustangs their third conference loss of the season. Michelle Zhao and Ayva Ostovar both put on career-best performances, breaking thirty assists each with 34 and 31 dished out.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set was characterized by ties that occurred at nearly every point. The largest lead either team saw was a mere two points. At 23-20, Cal Poly made a three-point lead, but Layanna Green quickly shut that down with one of her signature kills from the net.
The Gauchos brought themselves back from the verge at Cal Poly's 24-22 set point and tied it once more, this time at 24-24. The teams tussled, and Cal Poly was able to force a 28-26 win of the set.
Much of the same happened in the beginning of set two, but the Gauchos later managed a heftier heading. They had a four point lead at 13-9, and kept it going through 17-13, 22-16, and the final 25-17.
Gabi Martinez had a whopping 13 kills by the end of set 2, giving her 6.5 per set.
Cal Poly had a grasp of the third set, mildly leading though the early points and getting to 15-13. The Gauchos quickly brought it to 15-15, then 16-15 thanks to a save by Kiersten Schmitt and a kill by Eva Travis. She was back to her usual routine of annihilating the volleyball, getting 14 kills by the mid-third.
The Gauchos got set three 25-22 off of an ace by Bianca Nistor.
The Mustangs had set four 10-4 and 15-9. A lead at 21-16 foreshadowed the Cal Poly win, but the Gauchos managed to shorten the lead, ending 25-22.
The fifth and final set was grueling, as the Mustangs threatened the Gauchos' established lead at every turn. But the Gauchos knew it was their turn to win, however, after falling to the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo earlier this season. A final blow from Gabi Martinez brought the Gauchos' victory home.
STAT RECAP
- The setters blazed the trail tonight, with Zhao matching her career-high assist count of 27 by the early fourth.
- The Gaucho attackers had a field day as well, with Travis and Martinez both putting up a stunning 19 kills
- Green and Schmitt had 13 kills each, while Green hit a wild .579
- The Gauchos landed 78 kills as a whole and hit .354
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will host Hawai'i for the final match of their homestand tomorrow, Nov. 14, at 7:00 p.m. Senior Night will take place following the match.
