UC Santa Barbara hit a blistering .453 as a team and rolled to a 25-17, 25-19, 30-28 win at San Jose State on Saturday, completing a two-match sweep of the season-opening, two-match series in San Jose.
“Today was an awesome display of a balanced offensive attack,” said coach Matt Jones, whose team won in four sets on Friday. “Our setters made great choices and located well and our hitters were very smart.”
Sophomore outside Eva Travis followed her 25-kill performance on Friday with a team-best 14 kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Junior outside Kiersten Schmitt had eight kills on 16 swings and picked up seven digs, Emma McDermott had seven kills on the outside and hit .313, and middle Layanna Green pick up six kills on seven attacks for a .714 average.
Setters Milan Rex and Ayva Ostovar combined for 34 assists. Milan was the leader with 21.
The Gauchos had 44 kills to 39 by the Spartans, who were held to a .189 hitting percentage. Lolo Fonua led the team with 11 kills on a .259 average.
UCSB dominated in blocking, 6.5-1.
The Gauchos had trouble at the service line, committing 14 errors.
“We kept them in it with some missed serves, but still proud of how we stayed composed and finish out that third set. Nice start to the year,” said Jones.
The Gauchos (2-0) are back on the road next week at the USC Invitational. They play USC on Friday, Creighton on Saturday and finish the weekend against University at San Diego on Sunday at the Galen Center.