UCSB’s Ali Spindt
Ali Spindt was voted the Big West Defensive Player of the Week after anchoring UCSB’s defense through a perfect 2-0 weekend. In being named the UCSB/Cal Poly Tournament MVP, the libero picked up six digs per set and recorded a career-high 27 scoops against Northern Illinois.
To start the tournament, Spindt had a match-high 15 scoops in a sweep of Santa Clara, as she led the efforts to keep the Broncos to a .168 attack percentage, well below their fourth in the nation .328 average. Overall, the Gauchos limited their opponents to a combined .186 hitting percentage.
After this weekend, Spindt has now finished three matches this season tallying 20 or more digs with two coming from the past three matches. She previously had 23 scoops at Cal (9/13) and 20 versus Nevada (9/13). Overall, the sophomore is third in the Big West in averaging 4.33 digs per set.
Also nominated for the award were: Arden Davis (UC Irvine), Tyler Jackson (Long Beach State), Nicole Kessler (Cal Poly), Sarah Mendoza (Hawai’i), Kelcie Randazzo (CSUN), and Katie Quinn (UC Davis).
In winning five of its past seven matches, UCSB will continue its season at home against Cal Poly in the their Big West opener. The match will be in the Thunderdome with a scheduled 7 p.m. start time.
