UC SANTA BARBARA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Coming off of two wins last weekend, the Gauchos will look to keep up their momentum.

Oct. 29, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

• The Schedule
Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2007
Match No. 24: UC Santa Barbara at Pepperdine, 5 p.m.
at Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104)

Friday, Nov. 2, 2007
Match No. 25: UC Santa Barbara at Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m.
at Titan Gymnasium (4,000)

• What's Ahead
Coming off of back-to-back wins at home last weekend, the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team will once again head South this week for a pair of matches. The Gauchos will travel to Pepperdine on Tuesday, Oct. 29 for a 5 p.m. match-up and will then visit Cal State Fullerton on Friday, Nov. 2 for their second meeting of the season with the Titans, which is slated for a 7 p.m. first serve.

• For The Record
Santa Barbara improved its record to 9-14 overall and 4-7 in the Big West with a pair of conference wins last weekend. It marked the first pair of consecutive wins for the Gauchos since they went 3-0 in the Bay Area in early September with wins over Saint Mary's, Notre Dame and then-ranked No. 22 Santa Clara. The victories also marked the first at the Thunderdome this season, the Gauchos are currently 2-4 at home with just two home pairings left on the slate for the year. Historically, UCSB has never finished a season below .500 and has never posted a Big West record below .500. In fact, the Gauchos have only finished three seasons with fewer than 20-wins. In order for the Gauchos to finish at .500 this season, they will have to win seven of their nine remaining matches. The Gauchos also need to earn seven more victories in order for UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory to pick up her 800th career win. As UCSB stands now, it is unlikely that the team will make a 27th consecutive trip to the NCCA Tournament, Santa Barbara is one of only three programs (along with Penn State and Stanford) that has participated in every tournament since its inception in 1981. The NCAA released the mid-season Division I women's volleyball Ratings Percentage Index on Oct. 12 and the Gauchos ranked 143rd. The RPI helps the NCAA selection committee determine which teams, outside of those that earn automatic berths via conference championships, will make the 64-team field.

• Gauchos Post First Home Wins Of 2007
UCSB turned things around last weekend with a pair of wins in the Thunderdome. On Friday, the Gauchos hosted UC Davis. UCSB earned a 30-27, 30-27, 30-28 victory against the Aggies, marking its second sweep over UC Davis this season. On Saturday, the Gauchos captured the first two games over Pacific 30-28, 30-24, before Pacific posted a 30-21 win in game three to cut the UCSB lead to 2-1. The Gauchos were able to seal the match victory in game four as they defeated the Tigers, 30-23. It was the first win of the season over Pacific, which swept the Gauchos on Sept. 28 in Stockton.

• Around The Conference
Three weeks remain in the battle for the 2007 Big West title and defending champion No. 23 Cal Poly owns the top spot with a 10-1 mark. The Mustangs are followed by Long Beach State (9-2) and UC Irvine (7-3). Friday's opponent, Cal State Fullerton is currently in fourth with its 5-4 record while Pacific stands at 6-5. Cal State Northridge rounds out the teams at .500 or above with its 6-6 conference mark. UCSB is 4-7 while UC Riverside (1-9) and UC Davis (0-11) round out the standings.

• The Low-down On Lauren
Junior Lauren McLaughlin continues to lead the Gauchos with her 4.45 kills per game average, which ranks second in the Big West. The Torrance, Calif. native led the Gauchos for points during both of last week's contests; she posted a team-high 11 kills along with eight digs and a service ace against UC Davis. On Saturday, she recorded her 16th double-double performance of the season with a team-leading 14 kills along with 17 digs. She also posted a career-high tying three aces and two block assists in the win over Pacific. The outside hitter is just 75 kills away from reaching 1,000 career kills. McLaughlin is currently averaging 3.18 digs per game, good for second amongst the Gauchos. The junior, who earned the inaugural Big West Player of the Week honor of the 2007 season on Aug. 27, has been named to all-tournament teams on three occasions this year.

• A Quick Look At Quirarte
Two-time All-Big West First Team selection Brett Quirarte continues to lead UCSB with her .322 season clip, which is also the sixth highest amongst Big West players. The Long Beach, Calif. native had seven kills in Friday's win over the Aggies. On Saturday she hit .360 (12k, 3e. 25a) and also tallied six total blocks, including five block assists. Over the weekend, Quirarte had eight total blocks which lifted her career total to 309, which places her at No. 10 in the UCSB record books for total career blocks. Quirarte also surpassed 700 career kills over the weekend and has now tallied 709 since joining the Gauchos in 2004. The senior also climbed her way onto the Gaucho all-time block assist list this season and ranks eighth with 263.

• Leigh-bero
Junior libero Leigh Stephenson, who currently ranks third in the Big West for digs per game, is currently averaging 5.08 scoops per game. During Friday's match vs. UC Davis, Stephenson led the team with 17 digs. She bettered the previous night's effort with 22 scoops against the Tigers on Saturday. Stephenson has recorded a .947 reception percentage and has surpassed 20 digs on 12 occasions, including a career-high 30 scoops vs. Virginia on Sept. 8.

• Becca Banter
Rebecca Saraceno continues to lead the Gauchos for aces per game with an average of 0.31. She tallied two in each of last weekend's games. The Redondo Beach, Calif. native also tied her career-high mark of six block assists in the match against the Aggies on Friday. She ranks second amongst the Gauchos with 3.22 kills per game and third with 2.51 digs per game.

• The View On Vargas
Freshman setter Dana Vargas is currently averaging 11.38 assists per game and ranks sixth amongst Big West setters. Additionally, she has posted a .402 clip with 0.61 kills per game and 2.03 digs per game. Last week, Vargas posted 28 assists against UC Davis, which she followed with 38 assists against Pacific. She also notched three kills and seven digs in each match. Earlier this season, she picked up the first honor of her collegiate career with an all-tournament nod at the USD Invitational.

• Also Chipping In...
In Friday's match with the Aggies, senior Lauren Smith posted three kills on three attempts along with a block assist. The following night, she once again contributed a trio of kills and also tallied five total blocks including a career-high two solo blocks. Against the Tigers, freshman Charlene DeHoog posted a .320 clip with 10 kills and classmate Kasey Kipp had a weekend-best eight kills and five blocks assists. Kipp had nine total blocks over the weekend. Freshman Caitlin Saxton posted a career-high four service aces against the Aggies and Jessica Welch posted 13 assists in the win over Pacific.

• Gregory Confidential
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 793-342 (.698) record since accepting the reigns of the team in 1975. In her 33 years at the helm - the longest tenure in the history of Gaucho Athletics - "The Queen" has guided Santa Barbara to 20 or more victories 26 times, while her teams have finished the season ranked amongst the nation's top-25 on 28 occasions. She can boast five NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in the past ten years (including three Elite Eights) as well as National Coach of the Year honors in 1993. Gregory, a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame and currently the sixth-winningest coach in the Division I ranks, has also earned Big West Coach of the Year acclaim in four of the last five seasons. Gregory is currently just nine wins away from her 800th career victory and is one of only seven coaches in NCAA history to surpass the 700-win career mark.

• Watching The Waves
Non-conference opponent Pepperdine enters this weekend with a 13-7 overall record and a 5-3 Western Athletic Conference mark. The Waves, who will host UCSB Tuesday, are 4-2 at home. Julie Rubenstein leads the team with 4.20 kills per game and also averages and team-best 3.05 digs. Lecca Roberts has a team-high .383 clip and 0.99 blocks per game while setter Kiah Fiers averages 12.75 assists per frame. Pepperdine most recently posted a 3-0 sweep over Loyola Marymount on Saturday. UCSB and Pepperdine last faced-off on Oct. 10, 2006 when the Gauchos posted a 3-0 sweep in the Thunderdome. UCSB leads the all-time series 28-16.

• Titan Talk
After suffering just their second loss in program history to Cal State Fullerton on Oct. 6 in a five-game heartbreaker in the Thunderdome, the Gauchos will get their chance this Saturday to return the favor. Currently, Fullerton is 11-10 on the season and 5-4 in Big West matches. Brittany Moore leads the squad with 4.33 kills per game and also averages 2.88 digs per game. Erin Sadler has a team-leading .271 hitting percentage and 1.11 blocks per game. Setter Julie Geissert averages 11.73 assists per game while Cami Croteau averages 3.91 digs. UCSB leads the all-time series with the Titans 52-2, but have lost the last two match-ups.

• Coming Soon
The Gauchos will remain on the road next week when they travel to No. 23 Cal Poly on Thursday, Nov. 8 and to UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 10. Both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. start.