UC SANTA BARBARA OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE

Seventh-ranked UCSB is playing in its 22nd consecutive NCAA tourney, and is serving as a host institution for the 17th time. Cal and Santa Clara meet in other opening-round match in the Thunderdome.

Dec. 1, 2002

Santa Barbara, Calif. - The seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball team is seeded No. 8 in the 2002 NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship, and was chosen as one of 16 host institutions for first and second round play as tournament brackets were announced Sunday evening on ESPNews.

The Gauchos, who won their first-ever outright Big West Conference Championship this season and enter tourney play with a 28-2 overall record, host Fresno State (23-6) in the first round on Friday, Dec. 6 in the Thunderdome. That match will begin at 7:00 p.m., or 30 minutes after the completion of the other sub-regional opening-round contest at 5:00 p.m. between California (19-11) and Santa Clara (24-6). The two winners will then meet in a second round contest in the Thunderdome on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 7:00 p.m. The victor of that contest advances to NCAA Regional play the following weekend at a location yet to be determined.

UCSB remains one of only four programs in the country to qualify for all 22 NCAA Championships dating back to the tournament's inception in 1981, and is serving as a host institution for the 17th time in school history. The Gauchos have already faced the Bulldogs once this season, pulling out a 3-1 victory in the championship match of the Fresno State Invitational on Sept. 8. FSU went on to finish second in the Western Athletic Conference, concluding its season with a 3-1 loss at Nevada in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament on Nov. 23.

Santa Barbara, under Big West Coach of the Year Kathy Gregory, finished regular season play with a 3-0 home loss at the hands of top-ranked USC on Nov. 26. That marked UCSB's sixth match in 2002 against a fellow top-25 team and 12th contest vs. a squad which qualified for NCAA tourney play. The Gauchos posted a 4-2 record against ranked opponents and went 10-2 vs. the field of 64. A victory over Fresno State on Friday would be the 700th of Gregory's 28-year career at UCSB.

Santa Clara is ranked 16th nationally in the latest AVCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll and finished second in the West Coast Conference. One of the Broncos' losses came at the hands of Cal by a 3-2 margin in their final home match of the year on Nov. 19. The Bears, who placed eighth in the highly-competitive Pac-10 Conference, are making their first NCAA appearance since the 1989 season.

All-session tickets (Dec. 6 and 7) for first and second round NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament matches in the Thunderdome can be purchased by calling the UC Santa Barbara Athletic Ticket Office at (805) 893-UCSB. Prices are $10 for adults and $7 for students, senior citizens and children 14 and under. Single-day tickets will be available at the Thunderdome box office begining at 4:00 p.m. on Dec. 6 and 6:00 p.m. on Dec. 7 at a cost of $7 for adults, $5 for students, senior citizens and children 14 and under.