LOS ANGELES- UC Santa Cruz volleyball shook off a slow start to rally and defeat Occidental College 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 32-30, 25-12).

The Banana Slugs improved to 9-2 on the season after their second victory of a week-long SoCal roadtrip.

Set One
After the host Tigers built an early 10-3 lead, UC Santa Cruz rallied to tie it at 14-all. It was tied at 17 when Occidental went on a 5-0 run for a 22-17 lead. UC Santa Cruz responded with their own 6-0 run to tie it with a Kelly Ann Greene kill. Occidental, however, closed with a 3-1 run to win the set.

Set Two
The Banana Slugs took a quick 6-3 lead, but the Tigers tied it at 6. It was 8-all when UC Santa Cruz went on a 7-1 run, highlighted by Audrey Gilbert's ace and Samantha Taylor's four kills, to take a 15-9 lead.

The Banana Slugs led by as much as 10 at 23-13 before closing out the set to tie the match.

Set Three
The Banana Slugs kept their momentum in the third set as they built a 15-3 lead. However, an 8-0 Tiger run got the hosts within four at 15-11. Another 9-3 Occidental run gave them a 20-18 lead, but the Banana Slugs tied it at 20 with kills from Sinead Beaupain and Ashley Magley. The Tigers rallied and had set point at 24-22 before the Banana Slugs answered with two points, including another Magley kill to tie it at 24. There were six more ties before Lauren Bliss delivered an ace to finally end the entertaining set in UC Santa Cruz's favor.

Set Four
With the set tied at 3, UC Santa Cruz went on a 13-4 run with four different players registering kills. After an Occidental time out, the teams traded points before the Banana Slugs closed with a 4-0 run and won the match courtesy of a pair of aces by Drew Bryant.
 
Overall, UC Santa Cruz hit .181 in the match while the Tigers hit just .055. Sydney Ahrendt led the Banana Slug offense with a season-high 13 kills. Bryant added a season-high 9 kills and Taylor also had 9. Beaupain had team-highs of 22 assists and 17 digs. Bliss added 17 assists and four of the Banana Slugs' aces.

The Banana Slugs have a day off before traveling up the 101 and facing No. 1 ranked Claremont at the Cal-Lu-Fornia Invite.