Nov. 28, 2001

The Schedule
NCAA Tournament * Long Beach, CA * The Pyramid
First Round * Friday, November 30th, 2001
Match One * #24 UCSB vs. San Diego * 5:30 p.m. PST
Match Two * #1 Long Beach State vs. San Diego State * 7:30 p.m. PST
Second Round * Saturday, December 2nd, 2001
Match Three * Winner Match One vs. Winner Match Two * 7:30 p.m. PST

NCAA Tournament Committee Sends Gauchos to Long Beach
The 64-team NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament field was annnounced on Monday, with 24th-ranked UC Santa Barbara earning an at-large birth. The Gauchos were paired up against the University of San Diego in a first round match scheduled for Friday, Nov. 30 at 5:30 p.m. in Long Beach, Calif. Top-ranked and undefeated Long Beach State faces San Diego State at 7:30 p.m. in Friday's other contest. The winners of each match will square off on Saturday, Dec. 1 at 7:30 p.m., with the victor advancing to the NCAA West Regional Semifinals at a to-be determined location the following weekend.

Gauchos on the Air
KCSB, 91.9-FM in Santa Barbara, will broadcast all matches involving UCSB live from the Pyramid this weekend. Oskar Garcia and John Burke will provide Friday's play-by-play live at 5:30 p.m., and will join Saturday's second-round match in progress beginning at 8:00 p.m. if UCSB advances. All the action can also be heard via the station's website at www.kcsb.org.

Tourney Tradition
You'll hear this statistic mentioned a lot, because UCSB is quite proud of it. With its at-large selection this season, Santa Barbara remains one of only four schools, along with Pacific, Penn State and Stanford, to compete in all 21 NCAA Tournaments dating back to 1981.

The Gregory File
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 671-290 (.698) record since accepting the reigns of the team in 1975. In her 26 seasons at the helm of the Gauchos she has guided Santa Barbara to 20 or more victories 21 times. For 24 straight years UCSB has finished the season ranked in the top-25, never finishing lower than 17th. Gregory was named the National Coach of the Year in 1993 and is a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame. She is currently the eighth-winningest active coach in Division I women's volleyball.

Probable Starters Notes
#3 * Brieanna Lampe * Sr. * OH Fourth in Big West with .323 hitting %
#5 * Brooke Rundle * Sr. * S 35 assists, nine digs on senior night vs. CSUN
#7 * Courtney Guerra * Jr. * OH 15 kills, season-best 18 digs at Hawai'i
#8 * Erica Menzel * So. * OH 3.25 dpg rank fourth in Big West
#12 * Danielle Bauer * Jr. * MB Double-digit kills in 26 of 30 matches
#17 * Niki Carroll * Fr. * MB 10 kills in sweep of San Diego State

Reserves Notes
#2 * Mari Bell * Fr. * S Reserve setter with 47 assists this season
#4 * Kristin Nelson * Fr. * DS 11 double-digit dig performances in 2001
#9 * Casey McFarland * So. * DS Averaging 1.62 digs per game
#10 * Francina Edmonds * So. * MB Career-high five kills against Riverside
#13 * Missy Blackshire * Sr. * OH 10 digs vs. CSUN were best as a Gaucho
#16 * Brooke Niles * Jr. * S/OH Averaged 9.84 apg in Big West play
#20 * Amy Sarkaria * Fr. * MB Four put-aways vs. Idaho tied career high

Gauchos Earn All-Big West Honors
Five Gauchos earned postseason recognition from the Big West when the all-conference teams were announced Monday. Middle blocker Danielle Bauer repeated as an All-Big West First Team honoree following an outstanding junior campaign in which she recorded 15 double-doubles, second most in the league, and led UCSB in kills 22 times. Joining Bauer on the First Team was senior outside hitter Brieanna Lampe, who ranked fourth in the conference with a .323 hitting percentage, a mark that currently stands as the eighth-best single-season mark in school history. Honorable mention all-league acclaim went to sophomore outside hitter Erica Menzel and junior setter Brooke Niles. Menzel ranked fourth in the Big West with 3.25 digs per game, and can also boast 11 double-double performances, while Niles averaged 9.84 assists per game in conference play and recorded the only triple-double by a Gaucho this year. Rounding out Santa Barbara's honorees was middle blocker Niki Carroll, named to the Big West All-Freshman Team after ranking second amongst all Gauchos with 0.88 blocks per game.

Doozy of a Schedule
UCSB faced one of the nation's toughest schedules in 2001, playing 13 matches against fellow nationally-ranked teams, including seven contests against members of the current AVCA top-10. However 13 proved to be an unlucky number for the Gauchos, who went just 1-12 against ranked foes, with the lone win over then-No. 25 Utah State on Oct. 27. Santa Barbara has a 4-12 record against NCAA Tournament teams, defeating North Carolina and San Diego State in addition to Utah State twice.

Gaucho Tournament History
While UCSB has qualified for all 21 NCAA Tournaments, most of its postseason success has come in recent years. The Gauchos have advanced to at least the Sweet 16 every season since 1997, with three Elite Eight appearances during that span. The Gauchos reached their second consecutive Regional Final in 2001, opening NCAA Tournament play with a sweep of Texas-San Antonio in the Thunderdome before otlasting Stanford in a five-game match that ranks as one of the most enthralling in UCSB women's volleyball history. It was then on to Honolulu, Hi., for the West Regional Semifinals, where the 14th-ranked Gauchos upset No. 9 Minnesota in four games. The Gauchos then went a game up against third-ranked Hawai'i on its home floor, but eventually lost 8-15, 15-1, 15-10, 15-3 and missed out on their first-ever NCAA Final Four appearance. The 2001 NCAA Tourney marks the first time since 1989 that Santa Barbara will not host at least one round of play in the Thunderdome. In its 20 previous Tournament appearances, UCSB has posted a collective 18-20 record.

Torrero Talk
The University of San Diego enters NCAA Tournament play with a 21-8 overall record, ending the regular season with a 3-0 sweep of Loyola Marymount and finishing third in the West Coast Conference at 10-4. Four Torreros earned all-conference acclaim, including junior outside hitter Noel Frohman who led her squad with 4.26 kills and 3.03 digs per game. In addition, outside hitter Devon Forster was named WCC Freshman of the Year. The Gauchos are 11-1 all-time against the Torreros, with the lone loss coming in the last meeting between the two schools on Sept. 2, 2000.

49er Factoids
Top-ranked Long Beach State, which won the 1998 NCAA Championship after going 36-0, is gunning for its second undefeated season in program history. This year the 49ers stand at 28-0 and breezed to a Big West title with an 18-0 league mark. Senior middle blocker Cheryl Weaver earmned conference Player of the Year honors, and was joined on the All-Big West First Team by three teammates. UCSB is the only opponent to push Long Beach State to five games this season, holding a 2-1 lead in the Pyramid on Sept. 21 before ultimately falling 30-23, 26-30, 24-30, 30-22, 15-8. The Gauchos also played the 49ers tough in the Thunderdome on Oct. 20, but lost 31-29, 30-28,32-30 as each game was decided by the minimum two points. LBSU owns a 49-26 advantage in the long series with Santa Barbara.

Aztec Announcements San Diego State earned an at-large birth after finishing the regular season at 16-12 overall, 9-5 in the Mountain West Conference. One of the Aztecs' losses was to UCSB by a 3-0 margin just last Friday, Nov, 23 at the Arizona Tournament. Sophomore outside hitter Zlatina Anguelova paces the SDSU attack by averaging 3.51 kills per game.