IRVINE — Despite a match-high 19 kills from Lauren McLaughlin, the UCSB women’s volleyball team lost its fifth consecutive match Friday, 3-2 at UC Irvine’s Crawford Court. Scores were 27-29, 25-20, 16-25, 25-13, and 15-10 in favor of the Anteaters, who improved to 16-12 overall and 11-4 in the Big West. The Gauchos dropped to 10-16 and 6-9. It was the second loss against Irvine in a week as the Anteaters took a 3-1 win at the Thunderdome on Nov. 15.
Shannan Homan had a career-high 16 kills and Devon Sutherland tallied a career-best 31 digs for Irvine. Lauren Kellerman matched McLaughlin with 19 kills of her own as four Anteaters had 10 or more kills. UCI out-hit UCSB .208 to .151 and held a 13 to nine advantage in blocks.
McLaughlin completed a double-double with 10 digs, but hit only .118 for the match. Rebecca Saraceno recorded 16 kills and 22 digs, but hit just .164. Freshman Lily Lopez had the most efficient offensive output of all Gauchos as she hit .353 with seven kills and one error in 17 attacks. Libero Leigh Stephenson finished with 28 digs.
The third set proved to be the best for UCSB as the Gauchos hit .355 with 14 kills and three errors in 31 swings. Santa Barbara found itself down 7-4, but picked up its play and rolled to a 21-13 advantage. Lopez pounded a kill for set point and finished the frame with a solo block.
Santa Barbara hosts UC Riverside to close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. It will serve as the final career match for seniors Lindsay Fletcher, McLaughlin, and Stephenson.
BOX SCORE AND PLAY-BY-PLAY: http://ucsbgauchos.cstv.com/sports/w-volley/stats/2008-2009/uciwvb28.html
