SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball swept Cal State Bakersfield tonight during their Big West Conference opener. The Gauchos made quick work of the three sets, winning two of them by nine or more points.
The Gauchos had a dominant win in the first set, clinching it 25-14. Santa Barbara made batches of points at a time, with the Roadrunners barely sprinkling points in-between. The Gauchos won the race to 20-10 and easily closed out the set 25-14. The vigorous lead gave opportunity to involve a multitude of players. Head Coach Matt Jones appreciated the strong open to the match and the diversity of action.
"First set went really well, really clean. Good volleyball by us," Jones said. "It was really nice to get a bunch of people in. Obviously, we're a team of 20, and got a lot of people working hard and it's awesome to get to see people get out there. I just thought everyone who touched the court executed well."
Bakersfield put up a little more of a fight in the second set, contesting the Gauchos well through the first phases. The Gauchos pulled ahead after 15, though, as they sped to a 20-14 lead. The roadrunners got all the way back to 20-19 before the Gauchos ultimately claimed it.
"Set two obviously was sloppy on our ends. But we cleaned it up, and we were able to take the set at the end," Jones said. "So that's still important to be able to do that even when things aren't clicking."
On the road to a shut out, the Gauchos began the third with an early 11-3 outlook. Bakersfield made it back to 15-14, but made only two more points before the Gauchos shut it down 25-16.
"And yeah, third set. Relatively smooth, not perfect, but relatively smooth." Jones said. "Good three-set sweep at home to start. We got a tough Northridge match tomorrow, so we got to get some rest and get ready for that."
STAT RECAP
- Gabi Martinez ran the offense, landing 11 kills and hitting .556 to pace the Gauchos' way to the win
- Layanna Green kept up her spectacular hitting percentage, delivering eight kills and hitting .500
- Eva Travis continued to hit double digit kills, with 10
- Milan Rex and Ayva Ostovar kept the assists coming, placing 18 and 22 to give Santa Barbara the victory
