Nov. 21, 2004

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - After already setting the Gaucho career record for digs and entering the match eight shy of the Big West record, senior libero Kristin Nelson added 16 more scoops to give her 1691 total, and placing her atop the Big West career digs list in No. 18 UCSB's 3-0 sweep of UC Davis on Sunday in the Pavilion.

With the victory, the 18th-ranked Gauchos finished regular season play at 23-3 overall, extending theeir season-long winning streak to 13 straight matches. UC Davis - which will join the Big West Conference beginning in 2007 - falls to 2-21 on the year.

Sophomore Jamie Garbisch led all scorers with 19.5 points and amassed a career-high 13 kills. Garbisch not only hit the Aggies hard at te net, but she served up a personal best six aces to lead Santa Barbara to the 30-19, 30-21, 30-20 road sweep.

Sophomore Janine Sandell recorded 10 kills and only one error on 29 total attempts for a .310 success rate to boost the Gaucho offense, which combined for a team .339 hitting average. Although it was Nelson who made history with her 16 digs, it was Sandell who led UC Santa Barbara with 19 digs in the match. As if the sophomore class did not already produce enough for the Gauchos, Olivia Waldowski recorded nine kills and hit for a .368 average over the three game match. Junior Megan Blackshire also contributed seven kills on 12 attempts for the Gauchos.

Although UCSB never trailed in the first game, that is not to say that UC Davis was never close to taking a lead. The Aggies did manage to knot the score at nine, but Sandell broke the tie with a kill and then dropped back to serve. The sophomore would serve up four straight points for the Gauchos, giving UCSB the 14-9 advantage. Following two of Garbisch's service aces, UCSB went on to defeat UC Davis in game one.

UC Davis jumped out to an early 7-4 second game lead, but UCSB would battle back to tie the score at 10 on one of Garbisch's match-high 13 kills. From that point on, the Gauchos would not trail in game two. UC Davis did cut the lead to one on two occasions, but the Gauchos were able to maintain composure and regain control of the match. After UCSB built a 29-21 lead over the Aggies, Emily Hendrickson promptly put away game two with a service ace.

After battling for early points in game three, UCSB managed to build an 8-4 advantage over UC Davis. The Gauchos could smell victory, and after building the four-point advantage, UCSB was well on its way to the sweep. UCSB hit an impressive .419 in the third game to help put away the Aggies. Garbisch led UCSB in the game with six kills on nine attempts. UCSB earned its final point of the match and the victory on a UC Davis service error by Mary McClelland.

The Big West Champion Gauchos will now await the announcement of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field on Sunday, Nov. 28. The brackets will be unveiled live on ESPNews beginning at 3:45 p.m. PST.