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Nov. 19, 2003

The Schedule
Match 26 * Saturday, Nov. 22 * 7:00 p.m. * Santa Barbara, CA
No. 21 UC Santa Barbara vs. Cal Poly - The Thunderdome (6,000)
Match 27 * Saturday, Nov. 29 * 7:00 p.m. * Santa Barbara, CA
No. 21 UC Santa Barbara vs. Arizona - The Thunderdome (6,000)

2003 Gaucho Record
18-7 overall/14-3 Big West Conference
8-0 home/7-5 away/3-2 neutral
USA Today/AVCA Ranking: 19th
Volleyball magazine Ranking: 19th

Gauchos Look to Go Undefeated at Home for First Time Ever
The 21st-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball closes the 2003 regular season with a pair of home matches, looking to post a perfect 10-0 record in the friendly confines of the Thunderdome. On Saturday, Nov. 22, the Gauchos can clinch their second consecutive Big West Conference title and 23rd straight NCAA Tournament appearance with a victory over Central Coast rival Cal Poly (12-16 overall, 4-13 in league play). A loss by second-place Cal State Northridge in either of its final two Big West matches would also secure the conference crown and NCAA berth for UCSB. Santa Barbara then plays a non-league tune up for the upcoming Big Dance on Saturday, Nov. 29 against Pacific-10 Conference member Arizona, currently ranked 25th. Should the Gauchos prevail in these final two regular season matches, they will finish undefeated at home for the first season in program history.

Poll Position
With their pair of victories against quality opponents last week, the Gauchos improved two spots to No. 19 in the latest USA Today/American Volleyball Coaches' Association Top-25 Poll. Meanwhile the staff of Volleyball magazine placed UCSB 19th in its weekly rankings, up one place from the previous 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.

Gauchos Sweep Long Beach State Before Vindicating Earlier Loss to UCI
Last week UCSB inched closer to the outright Big West title with a pair of impressive wins in the Thunderdome. On Friday, Nov. 14 the Gauchos defeated Long Beach State 30-24, 30-22, 31-29, staving off game point in the third frame for their first sweep over their longtime league rival since 1987. The following night, Santa Barbara vindicated one of its three conference losses in 2003 and clinched at least a share of the Big West Championship by defeating UC Irvine 28-30, 30-22, 30-26, 30-16. UCSB reeled off an incredible 11 straight points in the fourth frame to equal its largest victory margin in any game this season. In addition, the Gauchos hit .337 vs. UC, their second-most efficient performance in 2003. All of Santa Barbara's five-best hitting percentages this year have come in the Thunderdome.

Probable Starters			Notes
#2 * Mari Bell * Jr. * S			UCSB's only Big West Player of the Week in 2003
#4 * Kristin Nelson * Jr. * L	 	Amassed 1,100th career dig during UCI match
#5 * Megan Blackshire * So. * MB	Double-digut kills in each of last 12 matches
#7 * Olivia Waldowski * RS-Fr. * MB	Big West leader with .388 hitting percentage
#8 * Erica Menzel * Sr. * OH		Team-leading 15 double-doubles on the season
#10 * Francina Edmonds * Sr. * Opp.	13 digs at Idaho equalled her career high
#17 * Janine Sandell * Fr. * OH		19 kills vs. Anteaters established new career high

Reserves				Notes
#3 * Baylee Hassett * Fr. * L		Played in 22 games over seven matches this year
#9 * Emily Hendrickson * Fr. * OH/L	12 digs vs. UCI was ninth double-digit effort
#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 1.25 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		Career-high five kills, four blocks vs. American

The Gregory File
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 719-301 (.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.

Mustang Musings
A year after qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, Cal Poly is currently the Big West's eighth-place team and will miss the 2003 Big Dance. The Mustangs - led by senior Molly Duncan's 3.36 kills per game - dropped matches to UC Irvine and Long Beach State last weekend that extended their losing streak to six. The Gauchos opened conference play with a 30-28, 25-30, 30-26, 30-22 triumph in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Sept. 20 that was their eighth-straight win over CP. Santa Barbara leads the all-time series 36-14.

Scouting the Wildcats
Arizona (14-13 overall) will play three home matches - including a non-conference showdown with Northern Arizona on Nov. 23 that was curiously added to the schedule earlier this week - before visiting the Thunderdome. During the Arizona Invitational in Tucson on Sept. 12, UCSB recorded a 30-26, 28-30, 30-24, 30-19 road victory over the Wildcats, then ranked No. 14 nationally. However, UA still hols an 8-6 lead in the all-time series.

Big West Rank and File
As the Big West Conference sceason 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 second-most efficient attacking team, connecting at a .249 clip. In addition to ranking third in both kills (16.32) and digs (17.28) per game, Santa Barbara is the fifth-best serving team in the conference at 1.57 aces per frame.

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, Gregory has proven to be a clairvoyant, as 14 of UCSB's 25 contests have extended past the minimum three frames. Santa Barbara has shown its resiliency by going 9-5 in those contests. Adding to the dramatrics, the Gauchos havee been involved in 13 different games extending past the minimum 30 points. As a comparison, UCSB played 10 four and five-game matches and lasted longer than 30 just three times in all of 2002, when the squad posted a 30-3 overall record.

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 eight balls to go along with a team-high 13 scoops in the sweep over Long Beach State, the Santa Barbara native recorded her 15th double-double of the year with 12 kills and 18 digs against UC Irvine. Menzel's 3.66 kills per game are tops among all Gauchos, while her digging average of 3.54 is seventh-best in the Big West. 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.

Fade to Blackshire
With double-digit put-aways in each of her last 12 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 third among all Big West players with a .362 clip on the season. She also remains UCSB's top blocking artist at 1.02 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.

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 fifth among all Big West setters with a 12.41 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 .388 clip. The transfer from Nebraska upped that mark by hitting .500 with 20 total kills in last week's pair of home victories. Waldowski has now reached the 10-kill plateau eight times in 2003, most recently with 11 slams Friday vs. LBSU. The transfer from Nebraska is also serving up 0.36 aces per game, tops on the team.

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 11th double-digit kill performance of the year came in the win over UC Irvine, when she established a new career high with her match-best 19 put-aways while connecting at a sparkling .400 clip. Before missing two contests due to an ankle injury in late October, Hendrickson amassed 10 or more digs in each of her previous four contests, including a whopping 24 at UC Irvine. She currently ranks third amongst all Gauchos at 2.36 scoops per game.

Full Nelson
Junior Kristin Nelson reached a major milestone last week with her 1,110th career dig, while her 439 scoops in 2003 already rank ninth in a single-season at UCSB. Two weeks ago she staked her claim as one of the nation's top liberos by digging an incredible 40 ballsin 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 4.77, currently 15th-best in the nation. The Manhattan Beach, Calif., native has record double-digit digs in 22 of UCSB's 25 matches this season, while she has reached the 20-scoop plateau on 11 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.

On the Horizon
The Gauchos will await anouncement of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field on Sunday, Nov. 30. The selection show will air live on ESPNews beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST. NCAA First Round matches, which UCSB has bid to host, will be held either Dec. 4, 5 or 6.