After pulling off a comeback win in the first set, UCSB’s (4-9, 0-2) offense was left limited in the final three games, as Cal State Northridge (4-11, 3-0) took the 3-1 win in the Thunderdome on Friday night.
Ali Barbeau led the Gauchos with 12 kills, as she registered six of them in the first set. As a team, UCSB attacked at a .381 clip in that game, but could not maintain that level of offense through the rest of the match, finishing with a .164 hitting clip. Lindsey Ruddins was second on the team with a career-high nine kills.
Annie Hasselmann primarily handled setting duties and reached a career-high 38 assists.
On defense, UCSB finished with nine total blocks with Elizabeth Sheffield leading the match with four. For the second consecutive match, Emilia Petrachi picked up a team-high 19 digs.
The first set featured a tight battle with nine lead changes and 12 tied scores. CSUN held a slim lead at 21-20 after the Gauchos hammered two kills from Phoebe Grunt and Ruddins. The Matadors, however, reached set-point at 24-21 with its offense producing a pair of kills.
Facing a game one loss, UCSB came out of a timeout and rallied back with four unanswered points to take a 25-24 edge. Britton Taylor opened the run with a kill, which brought Shauna Klein to the service line. There, the senior served CSUN out of its system, evidenced by a bad set, and also dealt an ace.
Cieana Stinson was able to knot the score at 25-25 to keep her team alive, but the Gauchos clinched the game with back-to-back kills from Hasselmann and Sheffield.
UCSB was fired up after that strong finish and carried that momentum over to the second set when they opened with a 4-0 run. Barbeau swung for a kill, Grunt and Ruddins blocked a Stinson attack, and Hasselmann registered an ace during the stretch. CSUN shook off the early deficit with Alia Casino as its server, leading them to six straight points. The Matadors never looked back and took the second game 25-14.
The third game was reminiscent of the first, as the teams traded off big offensive runs and ultimately found themselves tied at 17-17. A Gaucho service error broke the tie and triggered an 8-2 set-clinching run for the Matadors.
UCSB faced a late-set deficit in the fourth, as CSUN pulled ahead at 21-15. Barbeau provided a response with a kill, which started a 5-1 run to move the score to 22-20. Petrachi had an ace in the stretch, while Sheffield officially made it a two-point affair following a kill.
But the surge came too late, as CSUN called a timeout and retook the floor to register three straight points, ending the match on top 3-1.
The Gauchos will be back tomorrow night to host No. 24 Long Beach State at 7 p.m.
