UCSB bounced back from its home-opening loss to Pacific on Friday evening with a three-set sweep over Big West-foe UC Davis on Saturday night at the Thunderdome. The Gauchos defeated the Aggies 25-16, 26-24, 25-11 to earn their first home win of the 2008 season.
With the win, UCSB improves to 7-8 on the season and 3-1 in the Big West, marking its best conference start since the 2005 season. The Aggies fall to 8-9 overall and 0-4 in conference play.
For the second night in a row, the Gaucho offensive effort was led by sophomore outside hitter Charlene DeHoog who posted 11 kills on 14 attempts for a .786 hitting percentage. She also tallied a service ace and two block assists in the win. Senior outside hitterLauren McLaughlin was the only other Gaucho to crack double-digits for kills with 10. McLaughlin also chipped in three service aces, six digs and five block assists.
Sophomore middle blocker Kasey Kipp was also error-less as she laid down seven kills on 11 attempts for a .636 clip. Kipp led the team at the net with six total blocks. As a team, the Gauchos out-blocked UC Davis 12-4.5.
Sophomore Dana Vargas dished out 27 assists and also tallied two kills, four digs and two block assists. Freshman middle blocker Lily Lopez had five blocks and two aces to go along with a pair of kills.
Renee Ibekwe led the Aggies with 11 kills in the loss. She also tallied one ace and four digs. Carson Lowden had a team-high 17 helpers in the match while Asia Casino dished out 13 assists and also tied teammate Avreeta Singh with a match-high seven digs.
(Photos taken by John Dvorak/Presidiopics)
