BERKELEY – The UCSB women’s volleyball team dropped its first match of the season, falling 25-18, 25-15, 28-26 to No. 11 Cal on Friday night. The defeat marked the first time the Gauchos dropped their season opener since the 2007 campaign.
UCSB, which is receiving votes in the preseason AVCA Top-25 poll, was facing its highest-ranked opponent since matching up with No. 7 Stanford in 2008. The Gauchos will conclude play in the Cal Molten Classic on Saturday when the team takes on Manhattan at noon.
UCSB was led by junior middle blocker Stacey Schmidt who had nine kills with three block assists while hitting at a .467 clip. Senior Charlene DeHoog, junior Lily Lopez and freshman Katey Thompson, playing in her first collegiate match, each recorded six kills while setter Dana Vargas tallied 30 assists.
As a team the Gauchos hit a collective .133 while Cal swung at a .318 clip.
Santa Barbara took a 7-3 lead in the second set before Cal went on a 9-2 run to take control, finishing off the set with an 11-3 spurt. The Golden Bears were led by Tarah Murrey’s 21 kills while Shannon Hawari had nine kills.
In the third set, the Gauchos took control with an 18-10 start as Schmidt recorded four kills and two blocks in the third set. However Cal came roaring back and even took a 24-23 advantage before Kara Sherrard tied it with one of her three kills. The team’s traded points before Cal’s Shannon Hawari had two more kills to end the match.
The Gauchos open their home schedule on Monday with a 7 p.m. match vs. Cincinnati, a team that is also receiving votes in the AVCA preseason poll. The match will take place at historic Rob Gym. Call (805) 893-UCSB to purchase tickets or log on to UCSBgauchos.com.
