Nov. 15, 2003
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 21st-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team clinched at least a share of its second consecutive Big West Conference Championship on Saturday with a 28-30, 30-22, 30-26, 30-16 victory over UC Irvine in the Thunderdome.
With their third straight win, the Gauchos improved to 18-7 overall, 14-3 in league play, remaining one-and-a-half matches ahead of second place Cal State Northridge. UCSB can secure the title outright by defeating Cal Poly next Saturday, Nov. 22 in the Thunderdome. Meanwhile the Anteaters - who handed Santa Barbara one of its three Big West losses - fell to 19-9 and 10-6 in the conference.
Game three provided the evening's greatest theatrics as the Gauchos appeared firmly in control with a 20-13 lead following a UCI ball handling error. That prompted Irvine head coach Charlie Brande to call timeout, and his troops responded with a string of five unanswered points ignited by Kelly Wing's ace. However the visitors could not close the gap within two points the rest of the way, and UCSB senior outside hitter Erica Menzel ensured her squad of a 2-1 advantage by slamming one home with authority on game point.
The Gauchos - who let a similar lead slip away in Irvine last month - were not about to let history repeat itself. Leading just 17-14 in the fourth frame, Santa Barbara reeled off an incredible 11-0 run, with the last 10 points coming on the serve of junior setter Mari Bell. The home team hit a blistering .500 in game four with 18 kills and zero errors on 36 swings, and secured its piece of the Big West pie on one of UCI's 12 service errors in the match.
Freshman outside hitter Janine Sandell led all hitters with 19 kills for Santa Barbara, while Megan Blackshire slammed home 16 and Menzel added 12 in the winning effort. Menzel also dig 18 balls for her 15th double-double of the season. With 28 scoops, Gaucho junior libero Kristin Nelson recoded a match-high and reached the 20-dig plateau for the 11th time in 2003.
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On the other side of the court, Wing - the Big West leader in kills per game - was limited to 17 put-aways. Other Anteaters reaching double-figures were Dana Kurzbard with 13 kills and Teribre Taylor with 11. As a team, UCI was out-hit .337 to .151.
The Gauchos' showdown with Central Coast rival Cal Poly in the Thunderdome will begin at 7:00 p.m.
