The UCSB women’s volleyball team might barley be one game above .500 after Friday night’s thrilling 3-1 victory against Blue-Green Rival Cal Poly, but if there is one thing this team has show this season, it is resilience.
Trailing 24-21 in the fourth set, Santa Barbara brought its home crowd to its feet and gave the ESPNU viewers a show, as the Gauchos pulled off five consecutive points to steal the match right from the Mustangs, and remain unbeaten in conference play.
The set scores were 19-25, 25-20, 25-19 and 26-24.
UCSB improved to 7-6 overall and 3-0 in Big West play while Cal Poly fell to 5-8 and 2-1.
Last week, UCSB trailed 2-0 at UC Irvine and the Gauchos pulled off a reverse sweep to stun the Anteaters at home.
Head Coach Nicole Lantange Welch told Noozhawk after the game how much this team continues to battle back, no matter the circumstances.
“It just shows that at any moment we can get on some momentum and we can make big plays and we can be steady down the stretch, and I think that’s a great thing,” she said.
“I told my team in the locker room, ‘Can we just get so we’re not at that point.’ But I’m really, really happy with the great composure and steadiness we showed.”
Friday’s game was also the first time UCSB volleyball was featured on ESPNU, and fans backed the team with a packed crowd.
“It was awesome that everyone just came out. I loved the hats and we had a really fun environment, and volleyball is a great, great sport to watch so hopefully they’ll keep coming back,” Lantagne Welch said.
Santa Barbara dropped the first set 25-19, a set in which Cal Poly juggernauts Tommi Stockham and Maia Dvoracek shined, notching seven and six kills, respectively.
“They have a big three with Maia, Tommi on the outside and then they have Meredith Phillips in the middle, but we knew we had to contain them,” Lantagne Welch said.
UCSB’s block was also nowhere to be found in the first set as the team collected just four, but over the final three sets the Gauchos came up with 26 blocks and made key adjustments to help turn the tide.
Senior Deni Wilson led the game with nine blocks, including a three-block span in the third set that helped seal that set win for the Gauchos.
“We weren’t quite executing the game plan as exactly as we wanted. We needed to be with our positioning and so we made some little fixes with that and then we did a much better job and it showed in the numbers how we were able to slow them down,” Lantagne Welch said.
After securing a pair of comfortable set wins in the second and third sets, the fourth set was a struggle for the Gauchos.
Trailing 20-13, UCSB ripped off seven of the next eight points to cut it back to 21-20 and have a shot at the end.
A block by Cal Poly gave the Mustangs set point at 24-21, but a kill from Michelle Ohwobete, who had a team-high 14 kills, followed by an error and a block from Tasia Farmer quickly tied the contest.
With fans on their feet, Brianna McKnight came up with the biggest kill of the game, givng the Gauchos a 25-24 lead. Another block from Farmer on the ensuing play would secure the win for the Gauchos.
After the game, redshirt senior Tallulah Froley told Noozhawk how much the team’s culture has changed this year, and Friday night was a perfect example.
“We’ve been working on mental strength, just really focusing on our side of the net rather than worrying about (the opponent’s) stuff and I think that fourth set really speaks volumes to our growth mentally,” Froley said.
“That’s what showed up tonight, that mental strength. Knowing that they’re going to get some good stuff but we were going to fight back.”
Froley, who was the Big West player of the week last week, finished with 13 kills while Farmer added 11. Wilson and McKnight both had eight apiece.
“I think we have we have the talent to win the conference this year,” Froley said.
“We’re up there with physical skill, but our mental game is just soaring right now and I think that’s really what we needed and what we are using right now to win. So I think 100% we have a great shot.”
UCSB will host Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday at 6 p.m.