SANTA BARBARA, Calif – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team announced their 2025 schedule on Thursday, July 10. The Gauchos are set to face a fierce slate of opponents including four teams with NCAA Tournament appearances – and three of those with wins – in 2024. The team is led by Head Coach Matt Jones, entering his third year at the helm of the program. 

The Gauchos kick off the season up north with back-to-back matches against San Jose State on August 29 and 30. 

The Blue and Gold will stay on the road the following weekend, heading to Los Angeles to play a three-day tournament hosted by USC. The first matchup on Friday will see the Gauchos face the hosting Trojans followed by matches with Creighton and San Diego scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Bluejays are coming off a 2024 NCAA Tournament run where they fell to the eventual National Champion, Penn State, in the Regional Final. 

The Gauchos' home opener comes against Kansas State in The Thunderdome on September 11 as part of a tournament co-hosted with Cal Poly. The Gauchos will look to continue their success from last year when they swept the Wildcats at the K-State Invitational. The following day, Santa Barbara will face Vanderbilt, who is entering its first season since the program was discontinued in 1980. Northern Colorado will be the last match to cap off the weekend in The Thunderdome on Saturday. 

Pepperdine will visit shortly thereafter with a match scheduled in Santa Barbara for Tuesday, September 16 in The Thunderdome. 

Non-conference play wraps up with a two-day adventure to Dayton for two matches on September 19 against Wright State and the hosting Flyers, who achieved an NCAA Regional Tournament appearance last season. The next day sees one match against Illinois State before heading back to Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos' second homestand will consist of their first Big West matchups. Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN come to The Thunderdome on September 26 and 27, respectively.
Headed into October, the Blue and Gold are back on the road to continue conference play. October 3 will have the Gauchos going up against Long Beach State followed by a quick jump down to La Jolla to face UC San Diego on October 4. 

The first installment of the Blue-Green rivalry takes place the Tuesday after with a visit up north to Cal Poly on October 7. The trip continues across the Pacific the following weekend as the Gauchos take on the reigning Big West Champions, Hawai'i, on their home court on October 12.

Cal State Fullerton comes to town on October 17 for the third weekend of Santa Barbara Volleyball at home. The Gauchos face UC Irvine in The Thunderdome the following day as well.
A Thursday trip up north has the Gauchos facing UC Davis on October 23. The Blue and Gold return home on Saturday, October 18 to go up against the Highlanders of UC Riverside.

The Gauchos begin their rematches with Big West opponents heading into November with trips to Northridge and Bakersfield. Santa Barbara will face the Matadors on October 31 and the Roadrunners on November 1.

November continues with a four-match homestand. The Gauchos will first see action against UC San Diego on November 7. They host Long Beach State in The Thunderdome the following day, November 8.

The Mustangs and the Gauchos face off on Thursday, November 13 to wrap up the Blue-Green rivalry at home. Fans can catch Santa Barbara's final regular-season home match on Friday, November 14 as the Gauchos take on Hawai'i in The Thunderdome. 

The regular season wraps up with road matches against UC Irvine on November 21 followed by Cal State Fullerton on November 22. 

The Blue and Gold will look for a top-six finish in the regular-season conference standings to qualify for the Big West Tournament. The tournament is scheduled for November 26-29 in Long Beach with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

UC Santa Barbara Athletics is excited to announce the Men's Water Polo and Men's and Women's Cross Country schedules later this month. Season tickets for fall sports will go on sale the week of July 14. Fans can always find the most recent Gaucho news at ucsbgauchos.com.