Nov. 22, 2006

On The Schedule
Friday, Nov. 24 -
Match No. 29: UC Santa Barbara vs. Albany, 12 p.m.
At Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid

Match No. 30: UC Santa Barbara vs. Western Michigan, 5 p.m.
At Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid

Gauchos To Spend Thanksgiving at "The Beach"
The UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team (17-11, 8-6 Big West) will finish its regular season schedule in Long Beach, Calif. where they will participate in the Baden Thanksgiving Classic with two matches on Friday against Albany and Western Michigan, both first-time opponents for the Gauchos.

UCSB Grabs Second Sweep of the Season Over UC Davis
Last Friday UCSB defeated future Big West conference foe UC Davis on the road to extend its current win streak to three matches. The Gauchos dominated the Aggies with game scores of 30-12, 30-19, 30-19, with UC Davis' 12 points in the first game being the fewest UCSB has held an opponent to outside of a game five this season. This was the second three-game sweep over the Aggies this season and the Gauchos now own an 8-0 series record over Davis.

Who is the Best in the Big West?
After capturing four consecutive Big West titles (2002-05), the Gaucho's reign as defending champions ended as No. 15 Cal Poly captured the conference title for the first time in 22 years two weeks ago. Last season's co-champion Long Beach State sealed up second place with a 12-2 mark and the Gauchos captured third place outright with their 8-6 record with Northridge and UC Irvine both splitting a pair of games last weekend to end the conference season with 7-7 records and a fourth place tie. The last time UCSB finished third in conference was in 2001 and the last time the Gauchos tallied eight or fewer conference victories was in 1984, which was their first season as a member of the Big West.

Playing the Waiting Game
With Cal Poly capturing the Big West's automatic bid into the 2006 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament, the Gauchos will now have to wait until the tournament selection show on Sunday, November 26 to see if they have received an at-large bid into the first round of the 64-team field. UCSB has made an appearance in every one of the 25 NCAA volleyball tournaments and is one of only three schools to do so along with Penn State and Stanford. The selection show will air at 12 p.m. (PST) on ESPNNEWS.

About Albany
This past Sunday Albany captured the America East Conference Championship with a 3-2 win over University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The Great Danes are 19-10 overall on the season and posted a 10-2 conference mark. Shelby Goldman leads all players with a 4.31 kill per game average while Ashley Crenshaw sports a team-leading .303 clip. Setter Blair Buchanan averages 11.26 assists per game while Kristin Piorillo and Ashley DeNeal average 3.77 and 3.75 digs per game, respectively.

Taming the Broncos
The Gauchos last opponent of the regular season is Western Michigan which recently advanced to the semifinals of the 2006 Mid-American Conference Tournament before falling to eventual champion No. 18 Ohio, 3-0. Western Michigan holds a 20-13 overall record heading into this weekend's tournament and posted an 8-8 conference mark. The Broncos are led offensively this season by Kathryn Babcock who averages 3.96 kills per game. Setter Jennifer Sulewski averages 13.20 assists per game and Caitlin Strimel leads all players with a 5.13 dig per game average.

The Gregory Goods
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 782-327 record since accepting the reigns of the team in 1975. In her 31 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 eight 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, has also earned Big West Coach of the Year acclaim four consecutive seasons (2002-05).

Outstanding Olivia
Middle blocker Olivia Waldowski posted great numbers in last week's lone match. The 6'3" senior collected a match-high 13 kills on 18 attempts with one error for a match-high .667 hitting percentage. Waldowski also had a match-high four blocks on the night with one solo and three assisted. The Irvine, Calif. native continues to lead the Big West with her .394 clip on the season and was ranked 25th last week amongst Division I players. Waldowski, already a three-time All-Big West and AVCA All-West Region honoree, earned her second all-conference first team nod this week. The middle blocker also currently ranks third in UCSB history for career block assists (363), is now tied fifth for total career blocks (412), is sixth for service aces (134) and is on pace to set a school record for career hitting percentage with her .361 clip four-season clip.

The Outsiders
Outside hitter Jamie Garbisch tied Waldowski with a team-leading 15.5 points against UC Davis last Friday. The Anaheim, Calif. native had eleven kills and 13 digs for her thirteenth double-double performance of the season. Garbisch also had a team-high four service aces on the night, tying her season-high which was set against Northridge on November 11. Garbisch received First Team All-Big West honors this week for her breakout season; this was her first all-conference nod of her career. She currently ranks third in the Big West with 3.90 kills per game and eighth for aces with an average of .31 per game.

Fellow outside hitter Lauren McLaughlin rounded out the double-digit kill performances against the Aggies with 10 kills and no errors on 36 attempts for a .278 clip. The sophomore was also able to put away a career-high tying three service aces on the evening.

Digging Her Way to the Top
Senior libero Emily Hendrickson tied Garbisch with 13 digs at Davis but even more impressive, she also received All-Big West First Team honors for a great season in which she led the conference in digs for 11 weeks, ten of which were consecutive. Currently second in the BWC with her 5.36 dig per game average, Hendrickson also ranks sixth all-time in the UCSB record books for career digs with 1,471 scoops tallied in her time wearing the blue and gold.

Brett On It
Rounding out the All-Big West First Team honorees is junior Brett Quirarte, the only 2006 Gaucho to earn consecutive first-team honors. The middle blocker currently is tenth in the conference with her .293 clip and tenth for blocks with a team-leading 1.14 block per game average. Last Friday, Quirarte was rather quiet recording only five kills and two block assists against UCD.

Freshman Aces
Two freshmen were named to the Big West All-Freshman team: Stephanie Brandt and Rebecca Saraceno, both of which have been regular starters for UCSB all season. Brandt currently is third in the conference with her 12.34 assist per game average and is second in aces with a team leading 37 on the season. Against Davis, Brandt handed out 35 assists, had three kills and an ace.

Saraceno received her all-conference honors for a season in which she ranked fifth amongst the Gauchos for kills with 2.30 per game and third in aces (30) as well as total blocks (85). The 6'2" outside hitter has been a force for UCSB recording 10 double-digit kill performances including a season-high 25 kills versus San Jose State early in the fall.

Looking Ahead
With this weekend's tournament marking the end of the Gauchos' regular season, UCSB will have to wait until Sunday, November 26 to see if it will be granted an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament.