THOUSAND OAKS, Ca. - After a strong start on Friday, the UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team couldn't find their footing in Saturday's matchups, losing 3-0 to both East Texas Baptist University (25-17, 25-17, 25-9) and Cal Lutheran University (28-26, 25-16, 25-20). Ashley Magley finished the day with a total of 12 kills, Olly Gordon had 8 blocks, and Margo Melgoza led the team with 28 assists. The Slugs will be back in action on Sept. 18 when they travel to Haverford College at 3:00 p.m. PT.
UC Santa Cruz 0, East Texas Baptist University 3
The Banana Slugs scored 17 points against East Texas Baptists in both the first and second sets, but the Tigers proved a formidable opponent. The Slugs were unable to put up more than a one-point lead and failed to keep up with the momentum found by East Texas Baptist. The third set wrapped the match up quickly, with the Tigers starting off strong with a 7-1 lead on the Slugs. While Ashley Magley and Drew Bryant managed to score kills on ETPU, breaking up their streak after a few back-and-forth points, the Tigers took hold of the game, scoring 10 consecutive points, finishing off the 3rd set with a 25-9 score.
UC Santa Cruz 0, Cal Lutheran University 3
In the afternoon, the Banana Slugs went up against the tournament hosts Cal Lutheran. The Slugs started the game strong with Kelly Ann Greene scoring the first two points in set one. The Regals traded points with the Slugs before UC Santa Cruz pulled ahead, putting a 5-point lead on Cal Lutheran for a score of 9-4. The Regals closed the gap, and the teams went back and forth with points staying within 4 points of each other. The two teams battled it out until the very end, tying the game up at 22-22. Heidi Collins brought the Banana Slugs into the lead at 23-22, but the Regals responded, putting up two points for a 24-23 lead. The Slugs continued the fight adding on two points, pushing the game to 25-24. The Regals tied it up at 25-25. Both teams knew they had to win by two, so Heidi Collins scored a kill once again, tying the game at 26-26. The Regals, however, came back hard and scored two consecutive points, ending the set 28-26.
After the close call of the first set, the Banana Slugs tried their best to keep up with Cal Lutheran in the second set, going back and forth with points. The Regals put a 3-point lead on the Slugs at 8-5, and UC Santa Cruz managed to bring the game back to an 8-8 tie. After a slight back and forth, Cal Lutheran scored 9 consecutive points, bringing the game to 19-10. The Banana Slugs put up 6 more points during the set, bringing the final score to 16-25, but could not recover from the Regals's streak.
In the third set, the Banana Slugs fought hard, but the Regals proved to be too much. Taking an early lead, Cal Lutheran scored 7 consecutive points to bring the game to 8-3. With the Slugs not ready to be counted out just yet, Audrey Gilbert scored a kill and an ace, followed by kills from Drew Bryant and Olly Gordon pushing the game to 7-8. While the two teams proceeded to trade points, the Slugs could not overtake the Regals until Kelly Ann Greene's kill brought them to 17-16. The Slugs stayed in the game tying it up at 20-20, however the Regals scored 5 more points and wrapped up the third set with a 25-20 score.
