Nov. 26, 2002

Santa Barbara, Calif. - After completing a perfect Big West Conference season, the sixth-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team made a clean sweep of the league's 2002 postseason honors, announced by Commissioner Dennis Farrell on Monday.

Big West Player of the Year Danielle Bauer was joined on the all-conference first team by fellow seniors Courtney Guerra and Brooke Niles as well as junior Erica Menzel, while Megan Blackshire was honored as the Big West Co-Freshmen of the Year along with Utah State's Zuzana Cerniaska. In addition, UCSB's Kathy Gregory earned Big West Coach of the Year recognition for the third time in her career after guiding the Gauchos to their first outright league title in school history at 18-0 and a 28-1 overall record.

Bauer is only the second Gaucho in the 19-year history of Big West volleyball to garnered Player of the Year accolades, and the first to be the sole possessor of the award. Former UCSB standout Roberta Gehlke shared top honors in 1999. Bauer is currently ranked third in the conference with 4.81 kills per game, and has a total of 1,501 put-aways in her career to rank third in school history. Meanwhile her hitting percentage of .353 and 1.16 blocks per game average rank sixth and seventh in the Big West, respectively. This marks consecutive season that the Santa Ana, Calif., native has received first-team all-conference acclaim.

After establishing new personal bests for kills (292) and digs (322) in a season, Guerra has captured the first postseason award of her four-year career. She is one of four Gauchos amongst the Big West's top-10 digging artists, currently ranking sixth at 3.35 per game. She has scooped a career-high 19 balls twice this season - both against rival Cal Poly - and also has 12 double-double performances under her belt.

With a 14.22 assists per game average, Niles ranks third in the nation, while her 1,266 total helpers in 2002 currently place her ninth all-time on UCSB's single-season charts. This setter from Woodland Hills, Calif., also owns a digs per game average of 3.36 that is fifth-best in the league. Her career highs of 61 assists and 25 digs both came in last Saturday's league finale at Cal State Northridge. Of Niles' three All-Big West postseason awards, this marks her first inclusion on the first team.

Thanks to a digs per game average of 4.22 that ranks second in the conference and a kills average of 3.79 that is seventh-best, Menzel can boast a team-leading 21 double-doubles in 2002. Her 27-dig performance in a win at Utah State is the second-highest total by a conference player this season. Like Niles, this outside hitter from Santa Barbara is a three-time All-Big West honoree who has captured first team honors for the first time in her career.

Blackshire, a 6-0 middle blocker from Capistrano Beach, Calif., has amassed 194 kills (2.11kpg) and owns a blocks per game average in her first collegiate campaign that is second-best amongst all Gauchos. Her hitting percentage of .786 (11k, 0e, 14a) in her collegiate debut vs. Florida International ranks as the 10th-most accurate single-match mark in school history. Blackshire the third Gaucho in the past seven years to be named Big West Freshman of the Year, following Gehlke (1996) and Niles (1999).

Gregory is the sixth-winningest active coach in the Division I ranks, and can earn the 700th victory of her illustrious 28-year career by defeating top-ranked USC tonight in the Thunderdome. In 2002 her Gauchos recorded a school-record 23-match winning streak and are assured of finishing with their highest winning percentage in program history.