LOS ANGELES, Calif. – UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball earned a 3-1 victory over the University of San Diego during their third and final match of the Trojan Invitational on Sunday. 

FROM HEAD COACH MATT JONES
"Thrilled about how the team dug deep today after 2 tough five-set matches against Top 25 teams. We got a great win against the always-good USD," Jones said. "While we are of course disappointed to miss 2 chances to get a Top 25 win, we're walking away feeling good about the weekend. Excited to keep watching this team grow and mature."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams entered the last day of the tournament at 0-2, having both fallen to USC and Creighton in the days prior. 

USD took the first set 25-19. It was tied at 14-14, but the Toreros pulled ahead to close out the set with a win. 

Santa Barbara began their comeback during the second set, marginally claiming it 25-23. It was neck and neck through the contest before Gabi Martinez nailed the match point to tie things up for the Gauchos. 

The Blue and Gold made quick work of the remaining sets, emerging victorious from both the third and fourth with a score of 25-18. Santa Barbara led for nearly the entirety of the third set, pushing ahead after a 3-3 tie, and never trailed San Diego in the fourth. The Gauchos' made a significant fourth-set lead at 18-13, one that the Toreros were unable to return from. 

Eva Travis was named to the All-Tournament Team, alongside three USC players and two from Creighton. The outside hitter racked up 53 kills across three matches and averaged 3.79 kills per set. She also posted eight blocks and fielded 78 receptions and 25 digs.

Freshmen Martinez and Jordyn Johnson stunned versus San Diego, with both earning their career-high kill counts of ten and eight, respectively. Layanna Green totaled 25 kills for the weekend after putting up her season-high of 12 against the Toreros. 

Milan Rex once again dished 23 assists for the Gauchos while Ayva Ostovar followed close behind with 19. Kiersten Schmitt placed two solo blocks, a season high, and had 15 in total through the weekend.

Across the three games, Santa Barbara reaped 161 kills to average 11.5 a set. They also outperformed their opponents' averages in service aces, kills, digs, solo and total blocks, points, and each stat per set. 

NEXT UP
Next week, the Gauchos will host Vanderbilt, Northern Colorado, and Kansas State at The Thunderdome Classic from Sept. 11-13.