NEWPORT NEWS- UC Santa Cruz got a preview of next month's Coast-To-Coast Championships as they defeated conference rivals Christopher Newport and Salisbury on Saturday.

The Banana Slugs improved to 12-4 on the year with the pair of sweeps over last year's C2C Finalists.

"I'm so proud of this team and our 2 conference wins today," said head coach Gabrielle Houston. "Even after traveling literally from Coast to Coast, they are focused and driven and  playing the best we have seen all year. We are looking forward to our match tomorrow!"

UCSC 3 CNU 0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-20)

The opening set featured 11 ties before UC Santa Cruz took the lead for good and eventually finished on a 4-1 run to take a 1-0 lead. The Banana Slugs then took set two with Peyton Tazelaar delivering three consecutive service aces to finish.

The Banana Slugs opened the third set with a 13-5 lead, but the host Captains responded with a 7-0 run to get within one. UC Santa Cruz answered with their own 6-0 run to get the lead back to 19-12. A Sydney Ahrendt kill put UC Santa Cruz at 24-17. CNU then fought off three match points to make it interesting, but Audrey Gilbert ended the match with an emphatic kill from a free ball to end it.

Samantha Taylor led UC Santa Cruz with 12 kills. Tazelaar added 10 kills plus 9 digs and a team-high four aces. Ahrendt finished with eight kills. Overall, UC Santa Cruz hit .267 and held Newport to 29 kills and .149 hitting.

 

UCSC 3 Salisbury 0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-16)

Set One went to UC Santa Cruz quickly. The Seagulls were held to .029 hitting thanks in part to three Banana Slugs blocks. The Banana Slugs also served five aces. The second set was closer, with 3 ties before UC Santa Cruz got the lead and led by as much as 5 at 16-11. Salisbury tied it at 17 before UC Santa Cruz finished with an 8-3 run to take the set. Tazelaar winged a Seagull player and Drew Bryant went cross court for the final two kills in that run.

After the Seagulls got the first point in Set Three, UC Santa Cruz went on a 17-6 run for their biggest lead. After a pair of kills got Salisbury within seven at 21-14, UC Santa Cruz finished the match on a 4-2 run to finish the sweep.

Ahrendt had a team-high nine kills on 15 swings. Tazelaar and Taylor each had eight kills. Sinead Beaupain had 22 assists along with three aces. Libero Emily Pasion had another match with double-digit digs with a team-high 19.

UC Santa Cruz finished with 43 kills and hit .243. They held Salisbury to .000, their second "perfect" defensive performance of the season. The Banana Slugs also had seven blocks, with Kelly Ann Greene, Tazelaar, and Gilbert each assisting on three of them.

The Banana Slugs conclude the C2C Invitational on Sunday morning against Mary Washington.