Dec. 7, 2002
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team is headed to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the past six years thanks to a 30-26, 30-25, 30-26 sweep of California in the Thunderdome Saturday night.
Following the match the eighth-seeded Gauchos (30-2) learned they will host NCAA Regional play for the first time in school history next week. Meanwhile the Golden Bears, making their first postseason appearance since 1989, conclude the year with a 20-12 overall record.
"Tonight we had some energy that was electrifying for me as a coach as well as the crowd, which was unbelievable," UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory said. "These girls were so pumped up we could of played five more games."
Santa Barbara raced out to a 3-0 advantage in game one before Cal took its only lead of the entire match at 7-6 when Leah Young's tip fell for a kill. Senior Courtney Guerra responded with back-to-back put-aways for the host team, who then went on a 7-1 run capped by a Guerra ace to pull ahead 19-11. The Bears proceeded to reel off six straight points to pull within 19-17, but would get no closer. Santa Barbara converted on its fourth game point opportunity when senior Danielle Bauer tallied one of her 14 kills by slamming home a quick set.
Another Gaucho 3-0 lead commenced game two, and the squad pulled ahead 12-6 before California went on a 4-0 run that included two Catie Noonan aces. Later in the frame a UCSB passing error made the scoreboard read 17-15, but the Gauchos regrouped to score four straight that included a big block by Guerra and Megan Blackshire. A Bauer kill out of the back row gave Santa Barbara a 25-19 advantage that forced Cal to call timeout, and a three-point spurt ignited by Francina Edmonds' put-away from the right side increased the cushion to 28-20. Five of the next six points went to the Bears, but a service error by the visitors halted their momentum.
|
|
 |
UCSB maintained a slim lead throughout much of the third game, and then used a 4-0 spurt that included kills by Edmonds and Menzel to pull ahead 24-17. However Cal was not ready to lay down its arms, climbing back within 27-26 on one of sophomore Mia Jerkov's match-high 18 put-aways. However the Split, Croatia native let the ball sail wide on her next swing, and Guerra notched two big kills to secure Santa Barbara's 22nd three-game sweep of 2002.
Menzel matched Bauer's 14 put-aways, and had 14 digs for her 23rd double-double of the season. Edmonds contributed 10 kills, while senior setter Brooke Niles was outstanding with 45 assists, a match-best 24 digs and eight kills on 14 errorless swings (.571). As a team the Gauchos hi a collective .263 to Cal's .175, and dug 75 balls.
Jerkov also topped all Golden Bears with 22 digs, while Young, playing her final collegiate match, was the only other Cal player in double-figures with 11 slams. Young did not commit a single error on her 22 attempts, hitting .500.
West Regional play in the Thunderdome begins on Thursday, Dec. 12 with top-seeded USC taking on Michigan State at 5:00p.m. followed by UCSB against No. 9 Pepperdine at 7:00, or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first match. The regional finals will take place on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:00 p.m. and are scheduled to be televised live on on a network to be announced.
Tickets for the NCAA West Regional will be available by calling the UC Santa Barbara ticket office at (805) 893-UCSB. All-session tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students, senior citizens and children 14-and-under. Single-day tickets are available at a cost of $7 for adults and $5 for students, senior citizens and children 14-and-under.
