ATHERTON (9-20) - UC Santa Cruz traveled to Atherton to take on NAIA opponent Menlo College in Atherton. The Oaks won 3-0 over the Banana Slugs. 

In their last match, the Banana Slugs won 3-0 over Mills College in Oakland on Thursday while the Oaks lost 3-1 to Vanguard University on Saturday in Costa Mesa.

In the first set, the Oaks scored the first two points. The Banana Slugs would then go on a 3-0 spurt capped by an Oaks' attack error. The one-point lead would be the Banana Slugs' largest of the set. The Oaks responded with a 5-0 spurt of their own, capped by a service ace, to give the Oaks the lead for good at 7-3. The Banana Slugs would come as close as one on two occasions; the second occasion at 8-7 on a Claire Okerlund kill. The Oaks would gain a double digit lead, at 22-12, on a service ace. The Oaks would gain their largest lead of the set at twelve, at set point, on a Banana Slugs' attack error and won the first set 25-13.

In the second set, the two teams would trade points for the first twenty serves. The Oaks would take the lead for good at 11-10 on a Banana Slugs' attack error. After a Moea Kekauoha kill gave the Oaks a 19-15 lead, the Banana Slugs scored the next two points on kills by Kallan Bedard and Alexandra Everett to trim the Oaks' lead to 19-17. The Oaks finished however on a 6-2 run and would gain their largest lead of the set at six on two separate occasions; the second occasion at set point on a Banana Slugs' service error at 25-19.

In the third set, the Banana Slugs scored the first two points of the set. The two point lead was the largest of the set for the Banana Slugs. The Oaks would then go on a 4-0 spurt, capped by a service ace, to take the lead at 4-2. The Oaks would extend their lead to five, at 12-7, on a Sierra Buscher kill. From that point, the Banana Slugs would go on a 6-1 spurt, capped by a service ace, to take the lead at 14-13. The Oaks would respond with a 5-0 spurt of their own, capped by a Banana Slugs' bad set, to give the Oaks the lead for good at 18-14. The Oaks would take their largest lead of the set at seven, at match point, on a service ace,winning the third set 25-18 and the match 3-0. 

"We had some bright spots during the match when we buckled down and focused," said head coach Josh Davis. "We also saw some big things that we need to work on. We will keep battling in practice. That's where it's going to start."

For UC Santa Cruz, Bedard had eight kills and for Menlo, Buscher had a match-high eleven kills. Krysti Photias had thirteen assists for UC Santa Cruz and Monica Hruby had a  nineteen for Menlo. Amal Peermohammed led the Banana Slugs with a match-high fourteen digs and Hannah Hudson also had fourteen digs for the Oaks.

For the match, UC Santa Cruz had a .126 hitting percentage with the best percentage coming in the first set at .300 while Menlo had a .191 hitting percentage with the best percentage also coming in the first set at .360. The Oaks had fifteen more service aces (17-2) than did the Banana Slugs.

The Banana Slugs will travel to San Francisco next Wednesday to take on NCAA Division II opponent Academy of Art University. The match, which will take place at Kezar Pavilion, is set to start at 7 pm.