NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The UCSC women's volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-23) victory over UMW in the C2C Third Place game on Saturday morning. Kelly Ann Greene led the team with 11 kills and was named to the C2C All-Tournament team while Ashley Magley ended the day with nine. Margo Melgoza dished out 39 assists while Anna Hospodar and Abigail Lee recorded 12 digs and 10 digs.
 
How It Happened
University of Mary Washington struck first with two points, but the Slugs countered, taking an 8-5 lead before surging to a 13-7 lead to force a UMW timeout with kills from Margo Melgoza and Vanessa Ojeikere. The break was ineffective as UCSC stormed to a 20-13 lead that saw back to back service aces from Abigail Lee. UMW managed to claw back and cut the deficit to 21-17, forcing a UCSC timeout. Out of the break, kills from Heidi Collins, Vanessa Ojeikere, and Kate Lau put the finishing touches on a 25-19 set one win.
 
The Banana Slugs made quick work in set two, starting on a 6-1 run before finding themselves up 13-7 for the second time in the match to force a UMW timeout. Mary Washington made a brief 3-1 run, but UC Santa Cruz responded with a 7-1 run to extend their lead to 22-12. UMW outscored the Slugs 4-3 down the stretch, but Margo Melgoza's service ace served as the final point of the set with the Slugs winning 25-15.
 
UMW started the third set on a 4-0 run and extended their lead to 10-3 before UCSC scored five straight with kills from Ashley Magley, Kate Lau, and Kelly Ann Greene to cut the lead to 10-8. The Slugs briefly tied the game at 11-11 but UMW went up by two points at 13-11 for just a moment. The Slugs saw four unanswered points as Greene and Audrey Gilbert both recorded kills to put UCSC up 15-13. The Slugs continued to attack, working to a 19-14 lead but UMW was relentless, cutting the lead to 21-20 in an attempt to extend the match. A service error and block from Abigail Lee and Kate Lau put the Slugs up 23-20 but two-straight points from the Eagles forced a UCSC timeout with a 23-22 lead; Out of the break, the Slugs outscored UMW 2-1 thanks to two kills from Kelly Ann Greene, giving UCSC the 3-0 victory over UMW.