Nov. 21, 2005

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team concludes the 2005 regular season this week with three matches in Southern California, the first against a longtime regional rival followed by two vs. foes the Gauchos have never before faced.

UCSB - which has won 14 of its last 15 contests and is 18-8 overall - plays its last true road match on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at Loyola Marymount (19-9). First serve in Gersten Pavilion is slated for 7:00 p.m. Live "Gametracker" scoring can be found at www.ucsbgauchos.com, while a live audio broadcast is available via a subscription service at www.lmulions.com. Santa Barbara holds a 24-6 advantage in the all-time series with LMU, but has dropped the past two contests to the Lions.

The Gauchos will then play two neutral-site matches at the Baden Thanksgiving Classic in Long Beach, Calif., taking on Florida A&M (21-4) on Friday, Nov. 25 at 5:00 p.m. and South Dakota State (16-17) on Saturday, Nov. 26, also at 5:00. The FAMU Rattlers recently won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament title - assuring themselves of an NCAA Tournament berth - while the SDSU Jackrabbits are in their second season as a Division I member.

A pair of victories this week would give the Gauchos their 26th season with 20 or more wins, all coming under head coach Kathy Gregory, now in her 31st year at UCSB. Santa Barbara has already clinched its fourth-straight Big West Conference championship with a 12-2 league record, sharing top honors in 2005 with Long Beach State after winning the title outright the past three seasons. LBSU earned the Big West's automatic NCAA tourney berth by virtue of a better cumulative game record in conference matches. Meanwhile the Gauchos will enter this week with 32 total points in the latest CSTV/AVCA Coaches' Poll, just five points behind Kansas State, currently ranked 25th nationally.

Most recently, UCSB defeated UC Davis 30-22, 30-26, 30-23 on Friday, Nov. 18 for its fifth straight victory, giving the Gauchos their first undefeated home season (8-0) in program history. The Gauchos have won a school-record straight matches in Santa Barbara dating back to last year.

Junior outside hitter slammed home 20 balls against the Aggies, moving her into 10th place on UCSB's career kills list with 1,173. The London, England native has amassed double-digit put aways in all 26 matches this season - with 10 performances of 20 or more - and has led or tied for the team lead all but once. Sandell's 5.26 kills per game average ranks among the top-10 players nationally and is on pace to be the second-highest single-season average in Gaucho history, while she has recorded 14 of her 27 career double-doubles in 2005.

In addition to Sandell, other Santa Barbara standouts this season include junior libero Emily Hendrickson, whose 4.63 digs per game are fourth-best in the Big West, and senior middle blocker Megan Blackshire, owning a .327 hitting percentage that is fifth-highest among all league players. For her career, Blackshire is connecting at a .344 clip that ranks fourth in UCSB annals.

In addition to preparing for their upcoming matches, the Gauchos will await a pair of important announcements. On Tuesday, Nov. 22, the Big West will release its 2005 all-conference teams, while Sunday, Nov. 27 brings the unveiling of the 64-team NCAA Tournament field, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. PST. UCSB is one of only four schools nationally to participate in the Big Dance all 25 years dating back to its inception in 1981.