HONOLULU, Hawaii — UCSB (4-8) was dealt a 3-0 loss in its Big West opener at Hawai’i (11-1), as the Rainbow Wahine sealed their victory with a 3-0 decision on Friday night.
Chanel Hoffman led the Gauchos with seven kills, while outside hitters Ali Barbeau and Lindsey Ruddins hit for six kills each. Senior Hanna Nielson finished the match with a team-high 16 assists, as Annie Hasselmann added 12.
At libero, Emilia Petrachi paced the team in digs with 16, while Hasselmann also registered double-figures in the category with 12. In the blocking game, Grunt led the way for UCSB with two, as Barbeau, Hoffman, Ruddins, and Sheffield added one each, as well.
The Rainbow Wahine took the first set with a 25-13 score. Ali Barbeau and Jaylen Villanueva registered two kills apiece duriing the game to lead the Gauchos, but the Rainbow Wahine’s .333 hitting percentage proved too much for UCSB. With the score tied at 7-7, Hawai’i’s Emily Magio registered a kill to open a 7-4 run for the Rainbow Wahine who kept that lead for the win.
Hawai’i then took a commanding 2-0 lead following a 25-14 victory in the second set, as they swung for .452 in the game. Early in the set, the Rainbow Wahine took a 5-4 lead, but the UCSB broke off on a 3-2 run to knot the score at seven a piece. In that run, the Gauchos were able to answer back with three consecutive points, as Lindsey Ruddins registered a kill in the set-tying stint. From there, however, Hawai’i took control of the game with six consectuive points and rode that to a game two win.
UCSB kept the score tight in the early goings of the third game, as the team fought back from a 6-2 UH lead with a 6-2 run. A Rainbow Wahine attacking error gave UCSB service, which set up Ruddins’s two kills to cut the lead to two points. Grunt added a kill of her own to make the score 10-8, but Hawai’i took over at the service line after Nikki Taylor swung for a kill. From there, UH maintained its lead and rode it to a 25-19 third set victory.
The Gauchos will be back in the Thunderdome this weekend, as they will host CSUN and Long Beach State on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Tickets are available at the Ticketing Office at the Intercollegiate Athletics Building, over the phone at 805.893.UCSB (8272), or online at UCSBgauchos.com.
