April 16, 2004

UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball Associate Head Coach Liz Towne-Gilbert has accepted a similar position at USC, it was announced late Thursday.

Towne-Gilbert - arguably the greatest setter in UCSB history - had been a member of the Gaucho staff since 2002. In her first season, she helped Santa Barbara capture its first-ever outright Big West Conference title and advance to the NCAA Sweet 16, while the Gauchos repeated as league champs in 2003. UCSB finished each season nationally-ranked, and produced four AVCA All-Region honorees - including two All-Americans - during that span.

"It was wonderful to work with Liz the past two seasons. She was instrumental in guiding us to our greatest season in school history [in 2002]," Gaucho head coach Kathy Gregory said. "We will all miss her, but know that this opportunity for her at USC was too good to pass up."

Towne-Gilbert will join the coaching staff of Mick Haley, who has led the Women of Troy to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2002 and 2003. USC will carry an NCAA-record 47-match winning streak into next season, and lost just eight games en route to compiling a perfect 35-0 mark in 2003. The Women of Troy have captured six national titles overall.

"I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity to become a part of the Trojan family, working with Mick Haley and his staff," Towne-Gilbert said. "It's been an incredible experience, to come back to UCSB and work as the associate head coach under Kathy. It will be difficult to leave the staff and players, but I know they will be in good hands. I look forward to watching the Gauchos' continued success from a distance."

A four-year letterwinner at UCSB from 1985-88, Towne-Gilbert is the school's all-time assists leader with 5,542, nearly 400 more then the next closest player. She also ranks fifth in Gaucho history with 1,256 digs. Towne-Gilbert earned All-Region honors as a senior in 1988, and played with the United States Volleyball Association National Team in 1987. Her 103 assists during a Nov. 11, 1986 match against San Diego State remain a school record, while no other Santa Barbara setter has amassed more than 82 helpers in a single contest.

UCSB will begin a search for Towne-Gilbert's replacement immediately.