LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team (2-0) takes the court in Los Angeles this weekend at the Trojan Invitational, hosted by USC. Across the three-day tournament, UC Santa Barbara will take on No. 22 USC, No. 13 Creighton, and the University of San Diego.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos look to continue their hot start to the regular season after going 2-0 at San Jose State this past weekend. The sweep was largely powered by Eva Travis, who hit at a .500 clip and recorded a match-high 14 kills, and Cortni Youngblood, who dominated defensively with 13 digs. Grace Wuischpard led the team with a trio of block assists, while Milan Rex placed 21 assists.
OPPOSITION OVERVIEW
UC Santa Barbara opens the Trojan Invitational against No. 22 USC, who come in undefeated at 2-0 after sweeping Denver and taking a four-set win over LMU last weekend. The Trojans rank fifth in the NCAA in blocks per set at 2.90 and are led defensively by sophomore middle blocker Leah Ford, who earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for Aug. 25–31.
No. 13 Creighton will be the Gauchos' second opponent of the weekend, heading into the tournament with a 1-2 record. The Bluejays dropped their first two matches of the season to Penn State and the University of Texas, but defeated the University of Kansas in their final match of the Opening Spike Classic. The Big East team, which placed 12th in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, ranks seventh in assists per set at 13.38. Senior middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt sits at 10th for blocks per set at 1.48.
The University of San Diego enters the Trojan Invitational undefeated at 3-0, riding five-set victories over Utah State and Marquette and a three-set sweep of Hawai'i. Coming off a second-place finish in the 2024 West Coast Conference, the Toreros' offense is led by outside hitters Nemo Beach and Isabel Clark, who have tallied 59 and 44 kills, respectively. The Gauchos, 2-8 in their last 10 matchups with USD, are looking to find redemption in this weekend's tournament.
FOLLOW ALONG
UC Santa Barbara kicks off their first match of the Invitational in the Galen Center on Friday, Sept. 5th, facing USC at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Gauchos will take on Creighton at 4 p.m. The final day of the tournament will feature UCSB's matchup against the University of San Diego, with first serve at 4 p.m. The Gauchos' match against No. 22 USC will be available to watch on B1G+, but all matches throughout the weekend will have live stats.
