Dec. 4, 2004
ATLANTA - The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team saw its 2004 campaign come to an unceremonious end Saturday afternoon with a 30-24, 30-28, 30-21 loss to Georgia Tech in NCAA Championship Second Round play in O'Keefe Gymnasium.
The Gauchos - who entered the contest seeded 13th in the Big Dance and riding a season-long 14-match winning streak - were swept for just the second time this year to finish with a 24-4 overall mark. Meanwhile the unseeded Yellow Jackets, playing on their home court, improved to 27-6 and advance to face No. 4 Minnesota in Regional Semifinal play next weekend.
"Georgia Tech played more aggressive than any team we've faced this year, at a gym that was exceptionally loud," UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory said. "To be out-dug by 20 tells the whole story. We had enough kills to win the match, but defensively we just didn't step up."
Despite what the final game score might indicate, Santa Barbara was actually the aggressor to begin the first frame. The visitors tallied the first two points of the afternoon, then held a 10-6 advantage following a GT attacking error. The Jackets then won the next three points, and after UCSB junior Megan Blackshire killed an overpass the home team then reeled off an 8-0 run highlighted by back-to-back aces from senior outside hitter Lynette Moster. Leading 15-11 Georgia Tech never looked back, and although the Gauchos crept back within 27-24 the Atlantic Coast Conference champs put them away by winning the final three points.
The two squads traded points to open game two until GT tallied three in a row capped by Lauren Sauer's put-away following a long rally. Santa Barbara responded with two in a row before another Jacket run, this one being 4-0 that made the scoreboard read 15-11 at the media timeout. The home team was able to hold UCSB at bay until the latter stages of game two, when the visitors closing within two points on five occasions before pulling as close as 29-29 thanks to a GT hitting error. With a chance to tie Gaucho sophomore middle blocker Olivia Waldowski went back to serve, but a long rally went the way of Georgia Tech as Sauer put one away to send her team into the locker rooms ahead 2-0.
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The three-time defending Big West Conference champs quickly fell behind 8-6 to begin game three, but rallied with a 4-0 run capped by Janine Sandell's big slam. That 10-8 advantage quickly evaporated due to three straight GT scores, and the visitors would not lead again as the raucous crowd of 634 cheered on the Yellow Jackets as they returned to the Sweet 16 for a second straight year. The Gauchos hit just .020 during the final frame.
Sauer led all players with 16 kills and registered a .452 hitting percentage as part of GT's impressive .306 team mark. Moster slammed home 15 balls while connecting at a .414 clip, and junior Laura Kuhn also reached double-digits with 10 put-aways. They were the beneficiary of 43 assists by senior setter Lindsey Laband's, the nation's leader in helpers per game. The Jackets out-dug Santa Barbara 62-42, aced by Marisa Aston's 16 scoops.
Sandell led a trio of Gauchos in double-figures with 14 kills, followed by Olivia Waldowski and Megan Blackshire's 12 apiece. Blackshire hit .429 on the afternoon. Playing her final match, senior libero Kristin Nelson amassed 15 digs to bring her school and Big West record for career scoops to 1,711. Senior setter Mari Bell - also seeing her last action as a Gaucho - recorded 24 assists, four kills and seven digs.
