UCSB head coach gets victories No. 800, 801 with pair of wins
UCSB SPORTS INFORMATION
SAN FRANCISCO – Kathy Gregory, the only head coach UC Santa Barbara women’s volleyball has ever known, recorded her 800th career victory on Saturday afternoon as the Gauchos swept Utah State, 25-19, 25-18, 25-21, at the USF Asics/Powerade Challenge being held this weekend in the Dons’ War Memorial Gymnasium. UCSB posted its second win of the day over Texas-Arlington in yet another three-set sweep (25-11, 25-13, 25-17) in the Gauchos’ tournament closer.
Gregory, who is in her 34th season with UCSB, has recorded an overall career record of 801-348 (.697) and has helped lead the Gauchos to appearances in 26 of the 27 NCAA Tournaments. Gregory is a six-time Big West Coach of the Year and a four-time AVCA West Region Coach of the Year. In 1993, she was named the AVCA National Coach of the Year and she has been inducted into the USBCA Hall of Fame. In her 33 years with the Gauchos, she has led the program to 20 or more victories 26 times, and has only finished one season with a sub-.500 record.
Saturday afternoon’s pair of wins improves the Gauchos’ 2008 record to 3-2 while Utah State falls to 0-6 on the season and UT Arlington now stands at 3-4.
Outside hitter Charlene DeHoog led the team against Utah State with 10 kills in the win and hit .261 (4e, 23 attempts). Freshman Lily Lopez pitched in her best performance of her young collegiate career as she tallied seven kills on 10 attempts with just one error (.600). The middle blocker also notched two service aces and a pair of blocks.
Three additional Gauchos each chipped in six kills during the match: sophomore Kasey Kipp, senior Lauren McLaughlin (who also added two aces), and junior Rebecca Saraceno. Senior libero Leigh Stephenson collected 11 digs and sophomore setter Dana Vargas dished out 28 assists.
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Melissa Osterloh, who tallied 12 kills and two aces, led Utah State. Kris Hymas also chipped in 10 kills during the match, along with six digs. Chelsea Fowles handed out a match-high 31 assists in the loss.
In the second match of the day, DeHoog was once again stellar, tallying 14 kills and a .423 clip (3e, 26 att). She also pitched in an ace and a block. Kipp’s play was also excellent as the middle blocker hit .769 on the match; recording 10 kills on 13 attempts with no errors.
McLaughlin was also error-less as she landed 10 kills on her 23 attempts for a .435 clip. Saraceno rounded out the double-digit kill performances as she notched 10 with a .409 clip (1e, 22 att). Vargas dished out 39 assists and Stephenson led the pack with 10 digs.
For UT Arlington, two players, Bianca Sauls and Tara Frantz, led the attack with seven kills apiece. Alicia Shaffer had a match-high 14 digs and Raegan Daniel tallied 20 assists.
The Gauchos recorded a season-best .454 clip in the match and committed just six errors. They shined in the third set as they landed a match-high 19 kills on 29 attempts with just one error for a .621 hitting percentage. UCSB relinquished the lead just once during the three-set affair.
The Gauchos finished the weekend with a 2-1 record at the tournament, good for second place. Sophomores Kasey Kipp and Charlene DeHoog each earned all-tournament honors.
UCSB will return to the Bay Area next weekend when they compete in the Stanford Invitational. The Gauchos will take on Santa Clara in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 4:30 p.m. Santa Barbara will also face No. 3 Stanford and New Mexico State during the three-day tourney.
