UC SANTA BARBARA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Nov. 5, 2008

• The Schedule
Friday, Nov. 7, 2008
Match No. 23: Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara
at The Thunderdome (6,000)
Available on Gametracker
Live video stream on BigWest.tv
Live online audio broadcast on KCSB.org

• This Week In Gaucho Volleyball
The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team will return to the Thunderdome this week for a three match home stand - its longest of the season - that will begin with a match on Friday evening against long-time Big West Conference rival, Long Beach State. The pairing is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Free travel mugs will be given to the first 200 fans on Friday.

• Kids To College - Come Watch For Free!
Friday's match is a "Kids to College" contest. The UCSB Kids to College Program, provided by the Santa Barbara News-Press, is designed to give local youth the opportunity to experience the thrill of athletic events at the collegiate level in person. All youth (13 and under) are invited to attend Friday's game and receive free admission. The Saturday, Nov. 15 match against UC Irvine will also be a "Kids to College" match. For more information, call 805-893-UCSB.

• For The Record
The Gauchos hit the road for northern California last weekend where they faced conference foes UC Davis and Pacific. UCSB got the road swing off on the right foot on Friday evening when it posted a 25-20, 25-15, 25-11 sweep at Davis. On Saturday, the Gauchos opened their match at Pacific with a 25-23 win in set one, but the Tigers captured the next three sets by way of 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 scores to grab their second win of the year over UCSB. Santa Barbara now holds a 10-12 overall record this season and a 6-5 mark in Big West matches.

• The Wild, Wild (Big) West
Long Beach State (8-2) overtook the top spot on the Big West leaderboard last week without actually playing a match. Previous conference leader and defending Big West champion Cal Poly (8-3) struggled on the road last week, dropping contests to Pacific and UC Davis. In third-place behind the Mustangs and 49ers is UC Irvine (7-3) and in fourth is Pacific (7-4). UCSB (6-5) is currently in fifth-place with Cal State Fullerton in sixth with its 6-6 record. UC Riverside (3-7), UC Davis (3-8) and Cal State Northridge (1-11) round out the conference standings. The Gauchos have five conference matches left this season including rematches with Long Beach State, Cal Poly and UC Riverside and a pair of matches against UC Irvine.

• The Gregory File
The Sept. 6 win over Utah State marked the 800th career victory for Gaucho head coach Kathy Gregory. The only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, Gregory has guided the program to a 808-358 (.693) record since accepting the reins of the team in 1975, making UCSB the 20th winningest Division I program. 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 boasts five NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in the past 11 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 six seasons. Gregory is one of only six coaches in NCAA history to surpass the 800-win career mark.

• The McLaughlin Group
Senior outside hitter Lauren McLaughlin led the Gauchos last weekend as she averaged 3.57 kills per set across the two matches and also was second on the squad with an average of 3.00 digs per set. She posted a .345 clip during the week tallying 25 total kills on 58 attempts with just five errors. In the match with UC Davis, she posted a team-leading 13 kills on 26 attempts with just one error for a .462 hitting percentage, her best clip of the season. McLaughlin also posted 10 digs against the Aggies to collect a double-double and the following night she posted 12 kills and 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. She currently ranks seventh in the Big West with her team-leading 3.40 kills per game and is now ninth all-time in the Gaucho record books for career kills with 1,326 - just two kills shy of eighth - and she has moved up to second for career kill attempts with 4, 234.

• Sophomore Sensation
Sophomore outside hitter Charlene DeHoog tied McLaughlin with a team-leading 26 points last weekend. She chipped in a total of 22 kills with 11 in each of the weekend's matches. Currently, DeHoog is second on the squad averaging 2.99 kills per set and is second on the team with an average of 0.52 blocks per set. In Saturday's loss to Pacific, she notched two service aces tying her career-high.

• Kipp, Kipp Hooray!
Sophomore middle blocker Kasey Kipp currently ranks third in the Big West for blocks per game with her 1.10 average and ranks eighth for hitting percentage with her .252 season clip. Last week, she chipped in eight kills and a .538 hitting percentage (1e, 13att) in the victory over UC Davis while also tallying three block assists. The next evening at Pacific she posted six kills and two block assists.

• Leigh-bero
Senior libero Leigh Stephenson led the team for digs in both of the weekend's contests. After posting a season-best 24 scoops in the win over UC Davis, she notched 13 against Pacific. She also tallied three aces, including two against the Tigers. She leads the team with an average of 4.10 digs per set and ranks third amongst Big West players. Stephenson is the conference record-holder for digs in a single season with her 650 tallied in 2007 and she currently has 324 so far this year. For her career, she reached 1,198 scoops last week, which ranks her 10th amongst UCSB career digs leaders.

• Assisted Living
Sophomore setter Dana Vargas posted a season-high five kills - one shy of her career-best - in the match with Pacific on Saturday. She went 5-for-6 on kills attempts with no errors against the Tigers for a .833 clip. She additionally tallied 35 assists and six digs. She also posted a career-best three aces for the third time in her two-year career and the second time this season. For the season, she is averaging 8.30 assists per set, ranking eighth in the Big West.

• Smokin' Aces
The Gauchos continue to rank second in the Big West with their 1.39 service aces per set average with two players - Dana Vargas and Rebecca Saraceno - ranking in the top-10 for aces per set. Saraceno is tied sixth with 0.32 and Vargas is ninth with 0.29. Last week, Vargas led the team with four aces across the two matches while Leigh Stephenson tallied three total.

• News From The Other Beach
Long Beach State, which was idle last week, has moved to first-place in the Big West standings. On Tuesday, the 49ers defeated Cal State Fullerton 3-1 to improve to 8-2 in conference play. Overall, Long Beach has posted a 19-4 record this season and is amidst a five-match win streak. The 49ers are led offensively by Quincy Verdin, who averages 3.24 kills per set with a .253 hitting percentage. Naomi Washington leads the squad with her .357 clip, which ranks second in the Big West. The last time the two teams faced-off was on Oct. 11 at Long Beach. The two teams battled through five sets before Long Beach came out victorious by way of 23-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-19, 15-9 set scores. Long Beach State holds a 55-33 series advantage against the Gauchos and has won the last six match-ups.

• Family Matters
Friday's match with mark the last collegiate contest between UCSB's sophomore setter Dana Vargas and her sister Nicole, a senior setter for the 49er's. They have faced-off three times already in their collegiate careers with Long Beach State coming out on top each time. Along with Nicole on the other side of the net is Dana's mom, Debbie Green, who is in her 23rd season as the Long Beach State assistant coach.

• Coming Soon
The Gauchos remain at the Thunderdome next week for matches against Cal Poly on Thursday, Nov. 13 and UC Irvine on Saturday, Nov. 15. The matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. Tickets are available at the Intercollegiate Athletics Ticket Office in the Intercollegiate Athletics Building on campus, by calling 805-893-UCSB, or by visiting the tickets link at UCSBgauchos.com.