California State University at Northridge
8-16,3-10Big West
UC Santa Barbara
11-14,7-6Big West
Matadors Fall in Straight Sets at UC Santa Barbara
11/8/2024 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
GOLETA, Calif. – Hailey Brockway had a match-high 15 kills but the CSUN women's volleyball team could not hold down a hot-hitting UCSB team as the Gauchos won in straight sets (25-22, 25-23, 25-19) in a Big West match Friday night at The Thunderdome.
Brockway led CSUN (8-16, 3-10 Big West) with 15 kills (.154) while Leah Miller added nine kills on .333 hitting. Setter Katie Kolar doubled up for the fifth time in the last seven matches with 33 assists, 11 digs, four kills, and one ace. Libero Paige Sentes scooped up a match-high 12 digs for CSUN in the loss.
The Gauchos wound up hitting .339 as a team while the Matadors hit at a .233 clip. UCSB also posted a sizable edge in blocks (11.5-1) while serving five aces to CSUN's three. Kolar, Tatiana Turgeon, and Autumn Rojelio registered aces for the Matadors.
SET 1: UCSB 25, CSUN 22
The Matadors got off to an impressive start, claiming the first six points of the match. Kills by Brockway and Miller, along with a UCSB hitting error forced an early Gaucho timeout. The hosts would chip away at the CSUN lead, ultimately tying the score at 11-11 on an ace. A Miller kill gave CSUN its last lead at 14-13 when UCSB scored six straight to take the lead for good on its way to a 25-22 win.
SET 2: UCSB 25, CSUN 23
Both teams hit well in the second set as the Matadors hit .293 but the Gauchos would hit .400 to take a two-set lead. With the score tied 5-5, UCSB scored four straight to force a Matador timeout. A Kolar kill out of the timeout fueled a 10-6 run that knotted the score at 15-all. A Brockway kill put CSUN up 20-18 before the Gauchos answered with a set-clinching 7-3 run to seal the 25-23 win.
SET 3: UCSB 25, CSUN 19
CSUN was limited to a .175 hitting clip in the final set as UCSB clinched the sweep with a 25-19 win. An Iye Okolo kill gave the Matadors a 13-12 lead when three straight UCSB points gave the Gauchos a 15-13 advantage at the media timeout. UCSB extended the scoring run to six, opening up an 18-13 lead. Trailing 24-17, the Matadors would save a pair of match points before a UCSB kill ended the match.
NOTES
- Okolo hit .333 with five kills on 12 attacks and had one block assist.
- With the win, UCSB improves to 48-10 all-time against the Matadors. The Gauchos improve to 11-14 overall and 7-6 in the Big West.
UP NEXT
CSUN continues a three-match road trip on Saturday as the Matadors meet Cal Poly at 8 p.m. at Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo. The match will stream live on ESPN+.
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