SAN JOSÉ, Calif. – Following a Friday win, UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball shut out San José State during their Saturday match for a 2-0 start to the 2025 season. 

FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"Today was an awesome display of a balanced offensive attack. Our setters made great choices and located well and our hitters were very smart," Jones said. "We kept them in it with some missed serves but still proud of how we stayed composed and finish out that 3rd set. Nice start to the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams scored similarly out of the gate, but the Gauchos managed to gain a tangible advantage by the middle of the first set, reaching a score of 17-10. Santa Barbara proceeded to push their lead to 21-13 and eventually won the entire set 25-17. 

The second set began slightly led by SJSU, but the Gauchos managed to tie it up at 8-8. The teams traded points until the Gauchos pulled a minor advantage at 20-18. Santa Barbara then nearly went straight from 20 to 25 points, giving up only one point during their final push of the set and won it 25-19.

The Spartans protested during the third and forced the set into overtime. SJSU overcame the Gauchos' 19-15 lead and tied it up at 21-21. The teams tussled into extra points before the Gauchos ultimately triumphed with a 30-28 win of the set and 3-0 win of the match. The gauchos won six straight sets against the Spartans this weekend, following the 3-1 win on Friday.

Eva Travis hit .500, earned a match-leading 14 kills, and averaged 5.57 kills per set for the weekend. Layanna Green scored six of her seven total attacks, while Grace Wuischpard led the team in block assists with three. Kiersten Schmitt picked up eight kills on Saturday, bringing her weekend total to 18. 

Ayva Ostovar placed 13 assists in addition to Milan Rex's 21, while Ema Petkovic and Emma McDermott picked up 14 and 11 kills. 

NEXT UP
The Gauchos will head to USC's Trojan Invitational from Sept. 5-7.