For the UCSB women’s volleyball, Saturday’s defeat to Cal Poly was more than just a loss. It might have knocked the Gauchos out of the postseason.
Poly and the Gauchos entered Saturday tied for third place in the Big West, but the Mustangs’ 19-25, 26-24, 20-25, 25-17, 15-10 victory dropped UCSB to fourth place, three games behind first-place Cal State Fullerton and two games behind second-place Long Beach State with three matches left.
On the stat sheet, things appeared as even as they come – which is to be expected in any five-set match – however Cal Poly outplayed UCSB in the final two sets. After the Gauchos won the third set (and after narrowly falling in the second) the Mustangs stepped things up.
Led by Kristina Graven, Jennifer Keddy and Holly Franks, each of whom had 10 kills apiece in the final three frames, the Gauchos’ couldn’t stop Poly’s blistering attack. Cal Poly hit .333 in the fourth set and .381 in the fifth. The Mustangs improved to 19-7 overall and 9-4 in the Big West.
“You know, it was a hard-fought match,” UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory said, “but we just lost momentum in the fourth game and they took it.”
UCSB had four players reach double-figures in kills, led by 17 from Stacey Schmidt. Kara Sherrard had 16 kills and 13 digs while Charlene DeHoog also had a double-double with 10 kills and 17 digs. Kasey Kipp added 12 kills and three solo blocks.
Setter Dana Vargas also chipped in a double-double with 52 assists and 11 digs. Kelly Heenan had a career-best 28 digs for the Gauchos, who matched their season-high with 88 total pick-ups.
While not mathematically eliminated, the Gauchos have three matches over the final two weeks of the season. UCSB plays its final two home matches on Friday, Nov. 12 vs. UC Davis and Saturday, Nov. 13 vs. Pacific.
