SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Volleyball team will return to The Thunderdome this weekend for its final pair of home matches. They host Sacramento State on Friday, Nov. 13th at 7 p.m., and will hold Senior Night against Utah Valley on Saturday, Nov. 14th at 7 p.m. The Gauchos enter the weekend tied with Sacramento State for third place in The Big West and hope to break ahead during their final home show of the regular season.
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Barbara hosted Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State last weekend, splitting the matches 1-1. They defeated Cal State Fullerton in four sets (3-1) on Friday, and fell to Long Beach State (1-3) on Saturday. The Gauchos' overall record now sits at 13-12 and their conference record 9-5.
Gabi Martinez led the offense against Cal State Fullerton with a match-high 20 kills and 13 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Defensively, Emery Tubbs had 3 solo blocks to reach her career high in Friday's four-set victory.
SCOUTING SACRAMENTO
Sacramento State sits with an overall record of 14-11, and a conference record of 9-5 tied with UCSB. They are coming off of a weekend of victory versus UC Irvine and UC San Diego, hoping to extend their winning streak to five matches. UCSB defeated Sacramento State 3-1 in their first meeting this season, and hope to stop their momentum this weekend and break their conference tie.
Victoria Marthaler was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week with 30 kills against UC San Diego, and leads the Big West in kills per set at 4.37. Setter Makenna Wiepert is also a player to keep watch on, as she recorded 57 assists against UC San Diego and was last week's Big West Setter of the Week.
UNDERSTANDING UTAH VALLEY
Utah Valley's overall record is 9-17 and their conference record is 7-7. They are currently tied for sixth place in their first year in the Big West Conference. Over the last 10 matches, they've evened at 5-5, also splitting matches with UC San Diego (L, 0-3) and UC Irvine (W, 3-2) last weekend. UCSB swept Utah Valley 3-0 in their last match in October, and hope to finish the regular season 2-0 against the Wolverines.
Players to look out for are Miley Thunstrom, leading the team with 232 kills and 23 service aces, and Evalyn Medaris with 827 assists.
FOLLOW ALONG
Tickets are available at ucsbgauchos.com/tickets and both matches will be available on live stats and ESPN+.
