Dec. 6, 2005

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Just five days after completing one of the best offensive seasons in UC Santa Barbara women's volleyball history, Gaucho junior outside hitter Janine Sandell was rewarded with a spot on the American Volleyball Coaches' Association All-West Region team, it was announced Tuesday.

Sandell - also the 2005 Big West Conference Player of the Year - was one of three league members to earn a spot on the 12-player AVCA squad, which also includes student-athletes from the Western Athletic and Mountain West Conferences. In 2004, the 5'10" London, England native earned honorable mention acclaim. The London, England native now becomes a candidate for All-America honors, to be announced next week. In 2004, Sandell received honorable mention All-West Region acclaim.

This year Sandell finished with a 5.26 kills per game average that led the Big West and currently ranks eighth among all Division I players. That gives her the second-highest single-season average in school history, while her 572 put-aways in 2005 were fourth-most in Gaucho annals. She boasted double-digit slams in all 30 matches - including 12 performances of 20 or more - while she led or tied for the team lead in kills all but once. Thanks to a digs per game average 3.15, Sandell has also posted 16 of her 28 career double-doubles this season, while her 0.37 service aces per game ranked sixth in the conference. She earned Big West Player of the Week acclaim three times in 2005 - giving her four such awards as a Gaucho - and was nothing short of spectacular during the season-opening Aquafina Volleyball Invitational in Florida, recording a rally scoring school record 33 put-aways in a five-game win over Missouri State on Sept. 2. That mark equaled the sixth-most kills ever by a UCSB player in a single match. Sandell earned all-tournament acclaim in the Sunshine State, and received similar honors each of the two following weekends. She will enter her senior season with 1,251 kills as a Gaucho, 10th-most in school history.

UCSB concluded 2005 with a 21-9 overall record and 12-2 mark in Big West play, giving the Gauchos a share of their fourth consecutive conference title. In addition, Santa Barbara remained one of only three programs in the country to advance to all 25 NCAA Championships dating back to the tournament's inception in 1981, but fell to USC 3-1 in first round action last Friday.