Ali Spindt
Ali Barbeau
Chanel Hoffman
Ali Barbeau, Chanel Hoffman, and Ali Spindt were all named to the All-Big West Team, it was announced Monday.
Ali Barbeau was named first team all-conference for the second consecutive season, as she led the Gauchos with 265 kills and 30 service aces. Her aces figure also ranked eighth in the Big West. Barbeau improved on her 2.5 kills per set average from her breakout season a year ago with a 2.7 average this season. The outside hitter tallied the ninth-most kills in conference play with 180 kills.
Barbeau finished the season on a high note with back-to-back double-double performances. First against Hawai’i, she reached career highs of 22 kills and 15 digs as she pushed the match into five sets after the Gauchos initially trailed 2-0. She went on to close out the year with 16 kills and 12 digs in a road win at Cal Poly, while hitting at a .400 clip.
Of the 17 players named to the first team, Barbeau was just one of the four to have made the team again for at least the second time.
After a remarkable first year with the Gauchos, Chanel Hoffman was named to the Honorable Mention All-Big West and All-Freshman teams. The freshman was third on the team with both 229 kills and 22 aces. She also led all UCSB pin hitters with 189 digs (1.93 per set) and 62 total blocks (0.63 per set). A threat on both sides of the ball, Hoffman finished the season with a team-high seven double doubles, including five in conference play.
The outside hitter was named the Big West Freshman of the Week after reaching career highs against UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton. Against the Anteaters, Hoffman led the Gauchos with 14 kills and a then career-best 14 digs. She followed up that performance with a season-best six block assists and also had 15 kills off a .419 hitting percentage.
Also earning honorable mention accolades was libero Ali Spindt. In 2013, Spindt was named the conference freshman of the year and also led the Gauchos in kills, but she was forced to move to libero this year due to injury. The sophomore made it look easy going from UCSB’s leading attacker last season, to becoming its top defender in 2014 as she finished with 396 digs (fourth in the conference) and 4.21 digs per set (third most).
The sophomore perhaps had a strong performance during the UCSB/Cal Poly Invitational when she was named MVP and was voted as the Big West Defensive Player of the Week. Over the weekend’s two matches, Spindt averaged six digs per set and scooped up a career-high 27 digs against Northern Illinois (9/20).
