SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - UC Santa Cruz sent notice to the women's volleyball world with a pair of victories at the Trinity Invitational.

The Banana Slugs defeated Nebraska Wesleyan in a five-set thriller in the morning, before finishing the day with a four-set upset over No. 2 Trinity.

UC Santa Cruz 3 Neb. Wesleyan 2 (18-25, 25-22, 25-9, 19-25, 15-5)
The Banana Slugs took a while to shake off the jetlag. They trailed 6-1 early in the first set before rallying and getting to within one at 11-10 and then tying it at 16-all courtesy of Emily Pasion's ace and Samantha Taylor's kill. NWU, however, closed with a 9-2 run to take the set. Set Two had five ties before UC Santa Cruz went on 6-1 run to take the lead for good at 16-11. The Banana Slugs played flawlessly in Set Three, outhitting NWU .484 to -.036 to take the set and lead.

Set Four, however, had the Banana Slugs commit an uncharacteristic seven handling errors, allowing the Prairie Wolves to escape with the set and extend the match.

In the Set Five clincher, UC Santa Cruz found their rhythm again, closing on a 9-1 run and hitting .421 while holding their opponents to -.050.

Overall, UC Santa Cruz hit .247 while NWU hit .042.

Taylor had 19 kills and three aces. Ashley Magley had 12 kills and Kelly Ann Greene added 10. Setter Lauren Bliss had a double-double with team-highs of 26 assists and 16 digs. Sinead Beaupain also had a double-double with 21 assists and 15 digs.

UC Santa Cruz 3 Trinity 1 (25-22, 12-25, 25-23, 26-24)
The visitors hung with the host Tigers through ten ties in Set One. A 3-0 run that included two kills by Ashley Magley gave them the lead for good at 20-17 as they outlasted the Tigers to take a 1-0 lead.

Set Two however saw Trinity roar back. They opened leads of 9-2 and 18-5 to take the set and tie the match. The wild third set had 17 ties and many momentum swings before the Banana Slugs took the last two points to win.

Set Four topped them all, as Trinity led at 22-19 before an attack error and kills by Sydney Ahrendt and Magley tied it at 22 all. The teams traded points until, with Trinity at Set Point, Ahrendt sent a kill down the right side. Pasion then sent another ace, forcing a Trinity timeout. Ahrendt, however, sent another kill to send the Banana Slugs in delirious joy as they took the win. The win broke Trinity's 43-match home winning streak that was the longest in the NCAA.

UC Santa Cruz survived being outhit by Trinity .272 to .157. Taylor led the team again with 16 kills along with two aces. Ahrendt added 12 kills and Magley had 10. Pasion finished with 15 digs and two aces.

The Banana Slugs close the weekend with a Saturday morning match against Susquehanna.