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Nov. 13, 2003

The Schedule
Match 24 * Friday, Nov. 14 * 7:00 p.m. * Santa Barbara, CA
No. 21 UC Santa Barbara vs. UC Irvine - The Thunderdome (6,000)
Match 25 * Saturday, Nov. 15 * 7:00 p.m. * Santa Barbara, CA
No. 21 UC Santa Barbara vs. Long Beach State - The Thunderdome (6,000)

2003 Gaucho Record
16-7 overall/12-3 Big West Conference
6-0 home/7-5 away/3-2 neutral
USA Today/AVCA Ranking: 21st
Volleyball magazine Ranking: 20th

Gauchos are Undefeated at Home in 2003
The 21st-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team can put itself in excellent position to repeat as Big West Conference Champions by winning a pair of league matches at home this week. On Friday, Nov. 14, the Gauchos welcome longtime rival Long Beach State (14-7 overall, 9-5 in the Big West) to the Thunderdome. KCSB, 91.9FM in Santa Barbara, will broadcast this annual "Battle on the Beach" live at 7:00 p.m. with Jon Burke and Lacey Watson providing the call. The following night, UC Irvine (18-8, 9-5) comes to town as UCSB looks to avenge one of its three conference losses on the season. Santa Barbara - which currently holds a one-match lead in the Big West standings over Cal State Northridge and a two-match cushion over both of this week's opponents - has the luxury of playing its final three league contests at home.

Poll Position
After splitting on the road last week, the Gauchos fell two spots to No. 21 in the latest USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top-25 Poll. Meanwhile the staff of Volleyball magazine dropped UCSB all the way from 14th to 20th in its weekly poll. 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 Loses to Idaho For First Time Before Sweeping Utah State
Last week the Gauchos recorded a split on the always-demanding Idaho-Utah State road trip. On Thursday, Nov. 6, UCSB was upset at Idaho 27-30, 30-28, 30-28, 34-23 despite digging an incredible 109 balls, establishing a new rally-scoring school record. It marked Santa Barbara's first ever loss to the Vandals in the 14-match all-time series. Two nights later, the Gauchos rebounded with a resounding 30-24, 30-28, 30-27 sweep at Utah State, which had pushed UCSB to five hotly-contested games in the Thunderdome just a month earlier. The Aggies collectively out-killed and out-dug UCSB, but Santa Barbara was the benefactor of 29 USU hitting errors and six service miscues.

Probable Starters			Notes
#2 * Mari Bell * Jr. * S			UCSB's only Big West Player of the Week in 2003
#4 * Kristin Nelson * Jr. * L	 	40 digs at Idaho; one-shy of school record
#5 * Megan Blackshire * So. * MB	Double-digit kills in each of last 10 matches
#7 * Olivia Waldowski * RS-Fr. * MB	Big West leader with .377 hitting percentage
#8 * Erica Menzel * Sr. * OH		Team-leading 14 double-doubles on the season
#10 * Francina Edmonds * Sr. * Opp.	13 digs at Idaho equaled her career high
#17 * Janine Sandell * Fr. * OH		Team-high 14 put-aways in win at Utah State

Reserves				Notes
#3 * Baylee Hassett * Fr. * L		Played in 22 games over seven matches this year
#9 * Emily Hendrickson * Fr. * OH/L	Made 21 total digs on last week's road trip
#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		Averaging 1.29 digs per game this season
#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 717-301 (.704) 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.

49er Factoids
Long Beach State comes to Santa Barbara looking to break its three-match losing streak to the Gauchos. On Oct. 18 in the Pyramid UCSB rallied for a 25-30, 30-18, 30-25, 35-33 victory, which was also their fifth in the past seven matches vs. LBSU. However, the 49ers still hold a convincing 49-29 lead in the all-time series. Long Beach junior outside hitter Erika Chidester ranks fifth in the Big West with her 4.66 kills per game average.

Anteater Annectdotes
On Nov. 9 UC Irvine completed its first season sweep over LBSU since 1982 with a four-game home victory to pull into a tie for third in the Big West. Crawford Court was also the scene of UCSB's heartbreaking 30-28, 29-31, 33-35, 30-25, 15-11 loss to the Anteaters on Oct. 17, snapping a 37-match winning streak in the series. The Gauchos - who have won 54 of the 58 all-time meetings vs. UCI - will need contain junior Kelly Wing, whose 5.45 kills per game rank second in the league.

Big West Rank and File
As the Big West Conference season winds down, 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 third-most efficient attacking team, connecting at a .244 clip. In addition to ranking second in digs per game at 17.38, Santa Barbara is fourth and and sixth in the conference in terms of kills (16.22) and aces (1.51) 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 13 of UCSB's 23 contests have extended past the minimum three frames. Santa Barbara has shown its resiliency by going 8-5 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
Senior outside hitter Erica Menzel, who ranks among the top-10 players in UCSB history in both kills and digs - had yet another productive week in both categories. After pounding home a team-high 17 balls to go along with 16 scoops at Idaho, the Santa Barbara native just missed out on her 15th double-double of the year with nine kills and 11 digs in the win over Utah State. Menzel currently ranks tenth in the Big West in kills per game at 3.73, while her digs average of 3.47 is seventh-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, fourth-best 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.

On the Horizon
UCSB closes out Big West play by hosting Central Coast rival Cal Poly in the Thunderdome on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:00 p.m. One week later, Arizona comes to town for a 7:00 non-conference battle that will serve as the regular season finale for both squads.

Fade to Blackshire
With double-digit put-aways in each of her last 10 matches, 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 .359 clip on the season. She also remains UCSB's top blocking artist at 1.05 per game, stuffing a total of 13 attempts on Santa Barbara's most recent road trip. 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.

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 eight double-doubles on the season, including a 53-assist, career-high-tying 15-dig effort vs. Pacific on Nov. 1 that helped her earn Big West Player of Week honors for the first time. The native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., ranks sixth among all Big West setters with a 12.38 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 .377 clip. The transfer from Nebraska upped that mark by hitting .500 in consecutive home victories over Cal State Northridge and Pacific two weeks ago, and scored the final three points as the Gauchos put away UOP during a thrilling game four. Waldowski has now reached the 10-kill plateau seven times in 2003, including a career-high 14 put-aways at UC Irvine on Oct. 17 followed by 12 the next night in Long Beach.

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 10th double-digit kill performance of the year came in the win over USU, when she pounded home a team-high 14 balls and hit .333 while notching two big solo blocks. Before missing two contests due to an ankle injury, Hendrickson amassed 10 or more digs in each of her previous four matches, including a whopping 24 at UC Irvine. She currently ranks third amongst all Gauchos at 2.38 scoops per game.

Full Nelson
Junior Kristin Nelson continues to stake her claim as one of the nation's top liberos by digging an incredible 40 balls in just four games at Idaho, one-shy of Charlotte Mitchel's school record set way back in 1985. That helped boost her Big West-leading average to 4.71, currently 17th-best in the nation. The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native has record double-digit digs in 20 of UCSB's 23 matches this season, while she has reached the 20-scoop plateau on 10 occasions.

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.