UC SANTA BARBARA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Seniors Brett Quirarte and Lauren Smith will be honored prior to Saturday's match.

Nov. 14, 2007

• The Schedule
Friday, Nov. 16, 2007
Match No. 28: UC Irvine at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.
at The Thunderdome (6,000)

Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007
Match No. 29: UC Riverside at UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m.
at The Thunderdome (6,000)

• What's Ahead
Coming off of a four match road swing, the UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team will return to the Thunderdome this weekend for their final pair of home and Big West Conference matches of the season against UC Irvine and UC Riverside. Irvine will visit on Friday, Nov. 16 and Riverside will follow on Saturday, Nov. 17; both matches are slated for a 7 p.m. first serve.

• How To Catch The Action
As always, all conference matches can be watched online at BigWest.tv and both of this week's matches can be followed on Gametracker, which you can find on the women's volleyball schedule page at ucsbgauchos.com. Friday's match will be broadcast on KCSB 91.9 FM and webcast at www.kcsb.org.

• For The Record
After dropping both of last week's match-ups, Santa Barbara now holds an overall record of 10-17 and a 5-9 mark in the Big West. With the loss at UC Irvine on Saturday, the Gauchos will finish the season with a record below .500. 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.

• The End Of An Era
As UCSB stands now, it is unlikely that the team will make a 27th consecutive trip to the NCAA 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 Division I women's volleyball Ratings Percentage Index on Nov. 4 and the Gauchos ranked 149th. 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.

• UCSB Drops Pair Of Conference Matches On The Road
After dropping the first two games in last Thursday's match at Cal Poly, 21-30, 23-30, the Gauchos won game three 30-23. Unfortunately for UCSB, the Mustangs closed out the win with a 30-17 game four victory, sweeping this season's series against the Gauchos. UCSB faced UC Irvine for the first time this season on Saturday and opened with a 30-25 game one win. The Anteaters won the next three games, 30-24, 31-29, 30-22, to capture the 3-1 victory.

• Around The Conference
With just one week remaining in Big West action, the defending champion, No. 19 Cal Poly, remains atop the conference leaderboard with its 13-1 record. The Mustangs need to win just one of their remaining two matches to capture the league crown. Long Beach State is currently in second with a 13-2 mark while Friday's opponent UC Irvine is in third at 10-4. Pacific (6-7), Cal State Fullerton (7-7) and Cal State Northridge (6-9) sit in the middle of the pack. UCSB is currently in seventh with its 5-9 record while UC Riverside (2-12) and UC Davis (1-14) round out the conference standings.

• The Outsider
Junior outside hitter Lauren McLaughlin continues to lead the Gauchos with her 4.39 kills per game average, which ranks fourth in the Big West. The Torrance, Calif. native led the Gauchos for points during both of last week's contests. Against Cal Poly, she posted 16 kills and seven digs. Two nights later, she posted her 18th double-double of the year with 19 kills and 13 digs against the Anteaters. McLaughlin is currently just 21 kills away from reaching 1,000 career kills. She is currently averaging 3.10 digs per game, good for second amongst the Gauchos.

• A Quick Look At Quirarte
Two-time All-Big West First Team selection Brett Quirarte continues to lead UCSB with her .321 season clip, which is also the fifth highest amongst Big West players. The Long Beach, Calif. native posted 13 kills in Thursday's match at Cal Poly and also tallied six total blocks, including three solo blocks. On Saturday, she tallied nine kills and five total blocks. Quirarte also tallied an ace in each match. The middle blocker currently leads the team with her 1.14 blocks per game and ranks eighth in the Big West. Quirarte currently ranks eighth in the UCSB record books for block assists (275) and tenth for total blocks (329). She is also on pace to finish in the Gaucho all-time top-10 for her career hitting percentage, she is currently tied sixth with her .305 four-year clip.

• Leigh-bero
Junior libero Leigh Stephenson currently leads the Big West for digs per game with her average of 5.27. Stephenson tallied 24 digs in each of last week's matches and also posted a career-high five assists against UC Irvine. The Nipomo, Calif. native has recorded a .949 reception percentage and has surpassed 20 digs on 15 occasions this season, including a career-high 31 scoops at Cal State Fullerton on Nov. 2.

• Becca Banter
Rebecca Saraceno continues to lead the Gauchos for aces per game with an average of 0.28 and is second on the team with 3.28 kills per game. The Redondo Beach, Calif. native posted a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs during the match with Cal Poly, she also posted a pair of block assists. Against Irvine, she tallied yet another double-double with 16 kills and 12 digs, marking her 15th of the season. She is third on the team with 2.48 digs per game.

• In Need Of Assistance?
Freshman setter Dana Vargas is currently averaging 11.25 assists per game and ranks seventh amongst Big West setters. Additionally, she has posted a .388 clip with 0.58 kills per game and 2.13 digs per game. Vargas posted 44 assists, nine digs and an assisted block against the Mustangs. In the match vs. UC Irvine she tallied 41 assists, two kills, nine digs and a block assist.

• Gregory Confidential
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 794-345 (.697) 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 six wins away from her 800th career victory and is one of only seven coaches in NCAA history to surpass the 700-win career mark.

• About The Anteaters
UC Irvine enters this weekend's action with a 20-9 overall record and a 10-4 mark in Big West matches. The Anteaters split a pair of matches last week, falling to Cal State Fullerton, 3-1, last Wednesday before posting a 3-1 win over the Gauchos the following Saturday. Chelsea Ellis leads the team with her .364 clip while Lauren Kellerman has a team-best 3.89 kills per game. Taryn Robertson averages 12.23 assists per game and Devon Sutherland averages 4.53 digs. The Gauchos lead the all-time series with UC Irvine, 60-6 but have lost the last two pairings.

• Scouting The Highlanders
UC Riverside enters this week with a 6-19 record and a 2-12 conference mark. The Highlanders have dropped nine of their last 10 contests, including a pair of 3-1 losses to Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly last week. Angie Mitchell leads Riverside with her .291 hitting percentage, 2.89 kills per game, and 1.25 blocks. Brittney Murrey leads the team with 11.25 assists per game and Kimberly McNeal averages 3.98 digs. The Gauchos and Highlanders last faced-off on Oct. 13 when UCSB picked up a 30-24, 30-25, 25-30, 30-19 win. Santa Barbara leads the all-time series, 19-0.

• So Long, Farewell...
Saturday's match against the Highlanders will mark the final home match for Gauchos seniors Quirarte and Lauren Smith. Quirarte is a four-year letterwinner and the Gauchos current team captain. In her tenure with UCSB she has twice been named to the All-Big West First Team and she has helped the Gauchos to three NCAA Tournament appearances. Smith, who transferred to UCSB last season from Ventura Junior College, has had a strong senior season, posting several career-highs, including two matches with eight kills, and she has contributed several key points in recent matches. Prior to the start of Saturday's match, each of these seniors will be recognized.

• Coming Soon
The Gauchos will finish the regular season on the road when they head to the Baden Thanksgiving Classic in Long Beach, Calif. next week. The Gauchos will face Temple on Friday, Nov. 23 at 3 p.m. before taking on Yale and Pittsburgh on Saturday, Nov. 24 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively.