Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Nov. 3, 2003

The Schedule
Match 22 * Thursday, Nov. 6 * 7:00 p.m. * Moscow, ID
No. 19 UC Santa Barbara at Idaho - Memorial Gym (1,500)
Match 23 * Saturday, Nov. 8 * 6:00 p.m. * Logan, UT
No. 19 UC Santa Barbara at Utah State - Smith Spectrum (10,270)

2003 Gaucho Record
15-6 overall/11-2 Big West Conference
6-0 home/6-4 away/3-2 neutral
USA Today/AVCA Ranking: 19th
Volleyball magazine Ranking: 14th

Santa Barbara Holds Two-Match Lead in the Big West Standings
The 19th-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team, riding the momentum of a season-long five-match winning streak, makes its final road trip of the 2003 regular season this week for a pair of Big West Conference battles in remote locations. On Thursday, Nov. 6 the Gauchos play at Idaho (13-10 overall, 4-8 in the Big West), with first serve slated for 7:00 p.m. Two days later, UCSB will be in Logan, Utah for a 6:00 p.m. PST showdown with Utah State (14-9, 6-6). Santa Barbara - which is 40-1 all-time against this week's opponents - currently holds a two-match lead in the conference standings over both Cal State Northridge and Long Beach State with five league contests left to play.

Poll Position
Despite their undefeated week, the Gauchos remained at No. 19 in the latest USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top-25 Poll. Meanwhile the staff of Volleyball magazine tabbed UCSB 14th in its weekly poll, up one spot from last week. Santa Barbara opened the season at No. 9 according to both the AVCA and Volleyball. Finally, back in August the ten Big West Conference coaches predicted Santa Barbara will defend its league championship in 2003. Santa Barbara received six first-place votes, while Long Beach State and Pacific rounded out the top three.

UCSB Tops Northridge, Pacific To Remain Undefeated at Home
The Gauchos improved to 6-0 at home this season with a pair of Big West victories in the Thunderdome. On Friday, Oct. 31, UCSB vindicated an earlier loss to Cal State Northridge with a convincing 30-21, 30-21, 30-19 sweep to pull two matches ahead of the Matadors in the league race. Santa Barbara hit .325 in vs. CSUN, and upped that mark to .329 the following night during a 30-19, 30-19, 22-30, 32-30 victory over Pacific. After dominating the first two games, the Gauchos allowed UOP to win the third frame and then hold game point in the fourth before putting an end to the visitors' comeback bid. It was UCSB's fourth straight victory over the Tigers, while Santa Barbara has now won at least 10 matches in Big West Conference play in each of the past 15 seasons.

Probable Starters			Notes
#2 * Mari Bell * Jr. * S			Reigning Big West Player of the Week
#4 * Kristin Nelson * Jr. * L	 	Double-digit digs in 19 of 21 matches this year
#5 * Megan Blackshire * So. * MB	11 or more kills in each of last eight matches
#7 * Olivia Waldowski * RS-Fr. * MB	18 kills, 11 blocks, .500 hitting % last week
#8 * Erica Menzel * Sr. * OH		Team-leading 13 double-doubles on the season
#10 * Francina Edmonds * Sr. * Opp.	20 total put-aways, hit .405 vs. Pacific, CSUN
#17 * Janine Sandell * Fr. * OH		10 kills vs. UOP; eighth double-digit effort

Reserves				Notes
#3 * Baylee Hassett * Fr. * L		Played briefly in each match last week
#9 * Emily Hendrickson * Fr. * OH/L	Returned from injury with eight digs vs. UOP
#11 * Taylor Whittell * Fr. * MB		Has yet to take the court this season
#12 * Kristy Sather * Fr. * OH		Pair of kills in Oct. 25 win at UC Riverside
#13 * Jamie Garbisch * Fr. * OH		At least four digs in each of last nine matches
#14 * Theresa Botsford * RS-Fr. * MB	Start vs. NMSU was first career match; two kills
#15 * Cami Rouse * RS-Jr. * OH		Will miss second straight season due to injury
#16 * Jackie Davis * Fr. * S/DS		Dished off 21 assists in game three vs. Idaho
#20 * Amy Sarkaria * Jr. * OH		Pair of kills as UCSB swept Cal State Fullerton

The Gregory File
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 716-300 (.705) record since accepting the reigns of the team in 1975. In her 29 years at the helm of the Gauchos "The Queen" has guided Santa Barbara to 20 or more victories 25 times, while her teams have finished the season ranked amongst the nation's top-25 on 26 occasions. She can boast five NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in the past six 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 active coach in the Division I ranks, coached the 1,000th match of her UCSB career on Sept. 12 against American University.

Big West Rank and File
As the Big West Conference schedule enters the home stretch, the Gauchos have steadily moved up the league's statistical leaderboard. After ranking dead last in hitting percentage through the first month of the season, UCSB can now call itself the Big West's most efficient attacking team, connecting at a .249 clip. In addition to ranking second in digs per game at 16.96, Santa Barbara is third and fifth in the conference in terms of kills (16.19) and aces (1.54) per frame, respectively.

Going the Distance
Before the start of the 2003 season, Kathy Gregory said that her Gauchos needed to be well-conditioned, since they would be involved in numerous four- and five-game battles. Well, through 21 matches, Gregory has proven to be a clairvoyant, as 12 of UCSB's contests have extended past the minimum three frames. Santa Barbara has shown its resiliency by going 8-4 in those contests. As a comparison, the Gauchos played past three games just 10 times in all of 2002, when they posted a 30-3 overall mark.

You Can't Spell All-America Without Erica
A week after recording her 1,300th career kill, senior outside hitter Erica Menzel reached the same milestone in digs en route to an 11-scoop performance Saturday vs. Pacific. The Santa Barbara native added a teram-high 18 kills in the win for her 13th double-double on the season, tops amongst all Gauchos. Menzel currently ranks tenth in the Big West in kills per game at 3.73, while her digs average of 3.44 is eighth-best. In 2002 Menzel led all conference players with 24 double-dips en route to earning first team all-league and AVCA All-West Region honors.

She's Fran-tastic!
While senior opposite hitter Francina Edmonds' senior campaign has been an inconsistent one, the Jacksonville, Fla., native has pounded home 10 or more kills nine times, third-most on the team. Her career high of 16 kills came against Fullerton on Sept. 27, while Edmonds enjoyed her first-ever double-double of 11 put-aways and 13 digs in the season opener vs. Texas-Arlington.

Vandal Vittles
Idaho had its six-match winning streak halted with consecutive road losses to Long Beach State and UC Irvine last weekend. Currently in seventh place in the Big West, the Vandals are led by senior middle blocker Anna-Marie Hammond's 4.61 kills per game. Last month the Gauchos improved to 13-0 all-time vs. UI with a 30-24, 30-25, 33-35, 30-26 victory in the Thunderdome.

Aggie Announcements
Saturday's showdown in Logan will be a rematch of a five-game thriller in Santa Barbara on Oct. 10. UCSB held several match points in game three before holding on for a 39-37,30-21, 30-32, 24-30, 15-12 triumph. Sophomore outside hitter Zuzana Cernianska had 26 kills in that contest, and leads the Aggies with an average of 4.65 slams per game. USU, which is 1-27 all-time vs. the Gauchos, currently sits in sixth place in the Big West and hosts Cal Poly on Thursday prior to the Gauchos' visit.

Fade to Blackshire
With double-digit put-aways in each of her last eight matches and a torrid .427 hitting percentage over that span, sophomore middle blocker Megan Blackshire has been the most consistent Gaucho attacker as of late. Her current run commenced with a personal-best 22 slams while hitting .588 in an Oct. 10 victory over Utah State. That efficient attacking performance was no anomaly, as Blackshire currently ranks second among all Big West players with a .371 clip on the season. She also remains UCSB's top blocking artist at 0.97 per game. In 2002 Blackshire became the fourth Santa Barbara player in the past seven seasons years to garner Big West co-Freshman of the Year acclaim.

Full Nelson
Another week, another pair of double-digit dig performances from junior libero Kristin Nelson, who can now boast 19 such efforts in 2003. In fact, the native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., has eclipsed the 20-dig plateau nine times, including a new rally-scoring school record of 29 at UC Irvine on Oct. 17. Nelson currently leads the Big West with 4.54 digs per game, an average that ranked 20th nationally as of Oct. 28.

For Whom the Bell Sets
Junior Mari Bell is in her first season as the Gauchos' starting setter, a position in which she has already established a new school record. Bell's 63 assists in a Sept. 12 victory over American were the most by a UCSB setter under the rally scoring format - which has been in place since the 2001 season - and were matched during a five-game thriller at UC Irvine on Oct. 17. She can boast three double-doubles in the last four matches, including a 53-assist, career-high-tying 15-dig effort vs. Pacific that helped her earn Big West Player of Week honors for the first time. The native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., has moved up to fourth among all Big West setters with a 12.48 assists per game average.

Olivia Twist
Vying to become UCSB's next Big West Freshman of the Year is middle blocker Olivia Waldowski, the current conference leader in hitting percentage at a sparkling .389 clip. The transfer from Nebraska upped that mark by hitting .500 in each match last weekend, and scored the final three points as the Gauchos put away Pacific during Saturday's thrilling game four. Her breakthrough performances came three weeks ago with a career-high 14 kills at UCI followed by 12 more in a win over Long Beach State, during which she hit a collective .393. Waldowski has now reached the 10-kill plateau seven times in 2003.

Freshman Focus
While Waldowski has obviously distinguished herself among the nine Gaucho freshmen, so have rookie outside hitters Emily Hendrickson and Janine Sandell. Sandell's eighth double-digit kill performance of the year came in the win over UOP, when she pounded home 10 ball and hit .320 while notching two big solo blocks. Before missing two contests due to an ankle injury, Hendrickson amassed 10 or more kills in each of her previous four contests, including a whopping 24 at UC Irvine on Oct. 17. She returned from her hiatus to amass a combined 11 scoops during last week's home victories.

Doozy of a Schedule
Another season, another incredibly challenging schedule for UCSB women's volleyball. Kathy Gregory and her staff have scheduled 13 matches against teams which reached the 2002 NCAA Tournament, including three - Arizona, Florida and Pepperdine - which advanced all the way to the Elite Eight. Four of Santa Barbara's 2003 opponents are ranked in the current USA Today/AVCA Top-25 Poll.

On the Horizon
UCSB has the luxury of playing its final four regular season contests at home, beginning with a Friday, Nov. 14 rematch with longtime rival Long Beach State in the Thunderdome. The next night, UC Irvine - which handed Santa Barbara one of its two Big West losses - comes to town. Both matches will begin at 7:00 p.m.