Nov. 6, 2003

Final Stats

MOSCOW, Idaho - The 19th-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team had its season-long five-match winning streak snapped Thursday night with a 27-30, 30-28, 30-28, 34-32 loss to Idaho in Memorial Gym.

With the defeat, the Gauchos fell to 15-7 overall and 11-3 in Big West Conference play, just one match ahead of second-place Cal State Northridge in the league standings. The Vandals, who notched their first-ever win over UCSB in 14 tries, now stand at 14-10, 5-8 in the conference.

Idaho came out slow in game one as they hit .138 compared to .218 for UCSB. The Gauchos were ahead 25-20 before the Vandals climbed back to come within one, 27-26. However, an Idaho service error and attack error gave Santa Barbara the win.

UI jumped out on top in game two quickly as they established a 21-11 lead. The Gauchos chipped away at the lead and an Idaho attack error put UCSB within one, 28-29. A kill by Meghan Brown gave Idaho the win.

The Vandals took control of game three from the beginning as they took the lead before allowing the Gauchos to come back and tie it at 24. Idaho out-hit UCSB .182 to .137 for the win.

Game four was a tough back-and-fourth battle as the two teams recorded nine ties and neither team led by more than five points. Santa Barbara held off match point at 28-29 with a kill by senior outside hitter Erica Menzel and again at 29-30 with a service error by UI. The Vandals had match point two more times before two kills by Anna-Marie Hammond sealed the win for Idaho.

Santa Barbara lost despite an incredible 40-dig performance from junior libero Kristin Nelson, who came up one-shy of the all-time school record set by Charlotte Mitchel in 1985. However the visitors registered just a .167 hitting percentage on the evening - a lowly total matched by UI - and had 18 attempts blocked by their opponents. Menzel led all Gauchos with 17 kills, while freshman Janine Sandell added 16 and sophomore Megan Blackshire pounded home 13 balls to go along with her eight blocks.

Idaho was led in its hard-fought victory by middle blockers Hammond and Sarah Meek, who each amassed 18 kills and hit .421 and .317, respectively. The duo also combined for 17 total blocks, three solo, 14 assisted. The Vandals' libero, sophomore Jessica Yearout, was also spectacular defensively with 30 digs on the evening.

The Gauchos will attempt to regroup for their final road match of the 2003 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Big West rival Utah State. First serve is slated for 6:00 p.m. PST.