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Dec. 10, 2002

The Schedule
NCAA Tournament * Santa Barbara, CA * The Thunderdome (6,000)
West Regional Semifinals * Thursday, December 12, 2002
Match 1 * USC (27-1) vs. Michigan State (21-11) * 5:00 p.m.
Match 2 * UC Santa Barbara (30-2) vs. Pepperdine (25-6) * 7:00 p.m.
West Regional Final * Friday, December 13, 2002
Match 3 * Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2 * 7:00 p.m.

Gauchos Playing in Sweet 16 for the Fifth Time Since 1997
For the first time in the 22-year history of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championships, Santa Barbara, Calif., is serving as a Regional host, as eighth-seeded UCSB welcomes No. 1 USC, ninth-seeded Pepperdine and Michigan State to the Thunderdome this week. The Gauchos, in search of their first-ever Final Four appearance, square off with Pepperdine in the West Regional Semifinals on Thursday, Dec. 12. That contest will begin at 7:00 p.m., or 30 minutes after the concusion of the evening's other Sweet 16 showdown between USC and Michigan State at 5:00. The winners of each match will advance to Regional Final competition on Friday, Dec. 13 at 7:00 p.m., where a berth in the National Semifinals - held in New Orleans, La. on Dec. 19 - is at stake. The Waves and Trojans were the only two teams to defeat Santa Barbara during the 2002 regular season.

Ticket Information
Tickets for the NCAA West Regional will be available by calling the UC Santa Barbara ticket office at (805) 893-UCSB. All-session tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students, senior citizens and children 14-and-under. Single-day tickets are available at a cost of $7 for adults and $5 for students, senior citizens and children 14-and-under.

Gauchos on the Air
KCSB, 91.9 FM in Santa Barbara, will broadcast all of the Gauchos' NCAA Regional matches live with Darren Schultz and Keith Busam calling the action. KCSB's broadcasts can also be heard by pointing your browser to www.ucsbgauchos.com and purchasing the "College Sports Pass." Meanwhile Friday's Regional Final will be televised live by Fox Sports West 2. The announcing team for that broadcast is Chris Marlowe and Angie Simpson.

Gregory Wins No. 700 Before UCSB Sweeps Cal to Open NCAA's
UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory recorded the 700th win of her illustrious 28-year career as the Gauchos defeated Fresno State 30-20, 28-30, 30-21, 30-26 to open NCAA Tournament play in the Thunderdome on Friday, Dec. 6. Despite having fewer kills and digs than its opponent, Santa Barbara found a way to beat the Bulldogs for a second time this year. The following night, UCSB punched its ticket to the Sweet 16 with a 30-26, 30-25, 30-26 triumph over California in second round action. The Golden Bears, who had upset 14th-ranked Santa Clara in the first round on Friday, were limited to just a .175 team hitting percentage and became the 23rd opponent this season to suffer a three-game sweep at the hands of UCSB.

Probable Starters			Notes
#4 * Kristin Nelson * So. * L	 	Double-digit digs 28 times this season
#5 * Megan Blackshire * Fr. * MB/OH	Named Big West co-Freshman of the Year
#7 * Courtney Guerra * Sr. * OH		13 double-double performaces in 2002
#8 * Erica Menzel * Jr. * OH		19 kills, 16 digs in NCAA opener vs. FSU
#10 * Francina Edmonds * Jr. * OH/MB	10 kills in second round victory over Cal
#12 * Danielle Bauer * Sr. * MB/OH	2002 Big West Conference Player of the Year
#16 * Brooke Niles * Sr. * S		14.11 assists per game rank second nationally

Reserves				Notes
#2 * Mari Bell * So. * S			Back-up setter with 94 assists on the season
#3 * Quinn Dibble * Fr. * S/L		Serving specialist; seven digs vs. Air Force
#9 * Geneva Lynn * Fr. * DS/L		Personal best five digs in 11/15 win over UCR
#11 * Becky Twohey * RS-Fr. * S	12 assists, two kills in five games played
#13 * Linda Wang * Fr. * MB		Appeared in nine games on the year
#14 * Theresa Botsford * Fr. * MB	Has yet to take the court this season
#17 * Niki Carroll * So. * MB		Missed Sept. with injury; 23 games played
#20 * Amy Sarkaria * So. * OH/MB	14 total kills; Big West All-Academic honoree

No Surprises
The headline above might as well read "Almost Certain Starters", since the Gauchos have fielded the same starting lineup in all but one match this season. In that lone exception - a win at UC Riverside on Oct. 19 - Amy Sarkaria started in place of Megan Blackshire, who fell victim to food poisoning.

The Gregory File
Kathy Gregory is the only coach UCSB women's volleyball has ever known, guiding the program to a 701-293 (.705) record since accepting the reigns of the team in 1975. In her 28 years at the helm of the Gauchos "The Queen" has guided Santa Barbara to 20 or more victories 24 times, while her teams have finished the season ranked amongst the nation's top-25 on 24 occasions. Gregory can boast three NCAA Elite Eight appearances in the past five years as well as National Coach of the Year honors in 1993. She is currently the fifth-winningest active coach in the Division I ranks and a member of the Volleyball Hall of Fame.

NCAA Tournament Tradition
You'll hear this statistic mentioned often, because the Gauchos are quite proud of it. With its automatic berth this season, UCSB remains one of only four schools - along with Pacific, Penn State and Stanford - to compete in all 22 NCAA Championships dating back to the tournament's inception in 1981. This season Santa Barbara served as a host institution for early-round competition for the 17th time. Most of the Gauchos' NCAA tourney success has come in recent years, with three Elite Eight and two Sweet 16 appearances since 1997. Last season's five-game loss to San Diego marked UCSB's first opening-round exit from the Big Dance since 1992. In its 22 NCAA appearances including this year, UCSB has posted a collective 20-21 record.

Thunder in the 'Dome
The 2002 season saw the two largest crowds in UCSB women's volleyball history. On Oct. 25, a school-record 4,256 fans packed the Thunderdome to watch the Gauchos defeat Big West rival Long Beach State in four games, while the regular-season finale vs. USC on Nov. 26 drew 2,794 volleyball enthusiasts to the UCSB campus. Prior to this year, Santa Barbara's largest home crowd was 2,462 against LSBU on Nov. 6, 1999.

Wave Watch
Currently in the midst of a school-record 16-match winning streak, eighth-ranked Pepperdine enters West Regional play with a 25-6 overall record. After completing West Coast Conference play unblemished, the Waves defeated Cal Poly and UCLA at home last weekend to advance to their second consecutive Sweet 16. Junior outside hitter Katie Wilkins leads Pepperdine with a 4.57 kills per game average, and pounded home 25 balls in a 30-26, 26-30, 30-28, 30-18 win at UCSB on Nov. 6. That contest was delayed for nearly two hours by a campus-wide power outage before the Gauchos' 23-match winning streak came to an end. The Waves lead the all-time series with Santa Barbara 27-12.

Trojan Talk
Since losing its only contest of the year to No. 3 Stanford on Nov. 2, top-ranked USC has swept its last eight opponents and comes to Santa Barbara with a 27-1 overall mark. The Women of Troy defeated San Diego and Texas A&M in first and second round play, repectively, last weekend. Also included in USC's current streak was a 30-28, 30-20, 30-26 victory at UCSB on Nov. 26 in the regular season finale for both teams. One of six Trojans averaging more than two kills per game, junior middle blocker Katie Olsovsky led the way with 15 put-aways vs. the Gauchos. USC has won 17 of the 26 previous meetings with Santa Barbara.

Spartan Stuff
Unseeded Michigan State swept No. 16 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., last Sunday to reach the Sweet 16. The Spartans head west sporting a 21-11 overall record and 11-9 mark in Big 10 Conference play, good for a fifth-place league finish. Sara Villwock is MSU's leading attacker at 4.04 kills per game, while setter Nikki Colson dishes off an impressive 13.14 digs per game. The Gauchos evened their all-time record against Michigan State at one win apiece with a 3-1 victory on Sept. 12, 1997 in the UCSB Judy Bellomo Classic.

Gauchos in the Midst of Dream Season
The Gauchos' achievements during the 2002 regular season were so numerous, it's tough to pick a place to start. How about with UCSB's first-ever outright Big West Conference title in 19 years of league competition? With an 18-0 Big West record, Santa Barbara became just the seventh team in history run the table in conference play. Thirteen of those league victories came during the Gauchos' 23-match winning streak to open the year, establishing a new school record. At 30-2, UCSB is already assured of finishing 2002 with the fewest losses in school history and its highest winning percentage ever. Included in that victory total are four wins over fellow top-25 opponents, two of which came against Big West rival Long Beach State, currently ranked 14th nationally.

Gauchos Sweep All-Big West Awards
After completing Big West play undefeated, the Gauchos made a clean sweep of the league's 2002 postseason awards, announced on Nov. 25. Senior middle blocker Danielle Bauer became only the second Gaucho ever to earn Big West Player of the Year recognition and is the first to be the sole possessor of the award. Former UCSB great Roberta Gehlke shared top honors in 1999. Bauer was named to the All-Big West First Team for the third straight year, where she was joined by a trio of teammates - Courtney Guerra, Erica Menzel and Brooke Niles. Meanwhile Megan Blackshire became the fourth UCSB player in the past seven seasons to earn Big West Freshman of the Year accolades, splitting the award with Utah State's Zuzana Cerniaska. Not to be forgotten, Kathy Gregory was named Big West Coach of the Year for the third time in her illustrious career. The Big West also recently released its list of all-academic honorees, bestowing such honors on Bauer, Niles and sophomore Amy Sarkaria.

Amongst the Big West's - and Nation's - Bests
UCSB find itself amongst the national and Big West Conference leaders in a number of important team statistical categories. The Gauchos' 17.43 kills per game top the league and, not surprisingly, so does their hitting percentage of .288. Those two stats ranked third and sixth-best amongst all Division I squads, respectively, as of Nov. 24. Santa Barbara leads the Big West in digs per game at 19.83, a figure that ranks seventh nationally and is over three scoops better than the next best league team. UCSB can also be found at fifth on the NCAA leaderboard in assists per game at 15.68. All of the aforementioned marks are higher than those posted by the 17-14 Gauchos of 2001.

Rouse to Redshirt in 2002
A herniated disk in her back suffered during preseason training has forced junior outside hitter Cami Rouse to redshirt the 2002 season. A transfer from Fresno City College, Rouse was a Junior College All-American last season and helped the Rams win their first-ever Central Valley Conference title in 2000. She was a first team all-league honoree both seasons and prepped at Bullard High School.

UCSB Inks Three During Fall Early Signing Period
On Nov. 20, Kathy Gregory announced the signing of three versatile outside hitters to National Letters of Intent. Long Beach, Calif., native Jamie Garbisch, Janine Sandell of Phoenix, Ariz., and Kristy Sather from Santa Rosa, Calif., will all join the Gauchos as freshmen for the 2003 season. The 5'11" Garbisch is a senior at Los Alamitos High School, which recently completed play in the CIF Southern Section 1-AA playoffs. She repeated as a First Team All-Sunset League honoree this season. A two-time Northwest Region Player of the Year, Sandell led Deer Valley High School in Glendale, Ariz., to a third place state finish last year. She is a strong candidate for Arizona State 5A Player of the Year honors in 2002, and can also effectively play the middle blocker position. Sather will come to Santa Barbara as the No. 51-ranked high school senior in the country according to Student Sports Magazine. The tallest of UCSB's three recruits at 6'0", she was the North Bay League Most Valuable Player a season ago while playing for Maria Carrillo High School.