LONG BEACH, Calif. – After defeating CSUN in the first round of the 2025 Outrigger Big West Championship Presented by the Hawaiian Islands, the UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team faced UC Davis in the semifinals today. They provided the No. 1 seed a formidable opponent, getting within inches of the win, but fell just short of advancement.
FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"It was a hard-fought match. I think there were pretty long streaks in the match where both teams struggled with serve receive so it was pretty gritty," Jones said. "There's a ton of positives. We still feel great about our team. It was a close match."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The match was charged by the first points, with both teams eager to assert their dominance. The UCs traded the reins of the lead throughout the first set, with Davis taking the first shift. The Aggies began ahead, logging the first lead before Santa Barbara tied it 5-5. Then, the Gauchos guided the way until 13-13. After Davis regained control of the progress. they put the set away 25-23.
It was here that Kate Martin got her first-ever kill, an accomplishment that came in the form of a nonchalant slap from the back row that landed on Davis' floor before they could react to the unexpected attempt.
The second set saw the Gauchos off to a 4-0 start and to a 25-23 win. The Blue and Gold led all the way through the set, though the Aggies threatened to ruin it with a late tie at 23-23. It was Santa Barbara who pulled off the win, however, thanks to a kill by Eva Travis and a service ace by Cortni Youngblood that provided the final two necessary points.
Santa Barbara and Davis were square through the third and pushed the set into overtime. The Aggies did come out on top 29-27, but not without a fight from the Gauchos. Though the Gauchos had led through 17-16, the Aggies put on a late-stage comeback to push the Gauchos off of another win.
The fourth set also staggered into overtime, with Davis taking it 27-25. The competitors were painstakingly tied throughout the set, as neither team ever gained more than a three-point lead. UC Davis outlasted Santa Barbara in the final moments of the game, but the Gauchos managed to fend off several set and match points from the No. 1 seed before they left the court for the final time this season.
The Gauchos were fairly matched against the Aggies in stats and even outscored them in multiple categories. The two neutralized each other's hitting ability, as neither ended with a total hitting percentage higher than .175. But, an unfortunate barrage of service aces by Davis was a key component to their win. The Gauchos had nine more assists and five more blocks than the Aggies, proving just how close the match was.
STAT RECAP
Eva Travis was foundational to the Gaucho fight, providing a match-high 24 kills for the offense and nabbing 10 digs for the defense. She got her sixth double-double of the season.
Jordyn Johnson was invaluable to the effort, walloping 10 of 14 attack attempts to hit .714. She held the match-high in block assists at five. Layanna Green had a similar performance, leveling 10 of 17 attempts to hit .529, all the while placing four block assists.
Gabi Martinez shoveled a shocking and career-best 19 digs while Ayva Ostovar popped 22 assists. Emma McDermott led the match in total blocks at four and scored a career-high three solo blocks.
