LA VERNE, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team earned a 3-1 (22-25, 25-13, 25-18, 25-14) victory over the Pacific (Ore.) Boxers on Friday afternoon. The reverse sweep saw the Slugs record a .231 hitting percentage with Olly Gordon leading the team with 15 kills in the contest while Kelly Ann Greene led the team in an all-around effort, earning 10 kills, four aces, and seven blocks. Abigail Lee and Margo Melgoza anchored the defense with Lee recording 13 digs while Melgoza had 11 with Melgoza dishing out 23 assists.

The Banana Slugs went toe to toe with the No. 11 La Verne Leopards and narrowly dropped a five set battle 3-2 (19-25, 25-17, 25-15, 22-25, 15-13). The Slugs offense was led by Ashley Magley and Kelly Ann Greene with Magley recording 14 kills while Greene ended with 10. Audrey Gilbert led the team with six service aces while Margo Melgoza dished out 22 assists. Abigail Lee anchored the defense against the Leopards with 20 digs. The Slugs will be back in action on Sunday when they take on Chapman at 11:30 a.m. and Whittier at 2:00 p.m.
 
UC Santa Cruz 3, Pacific (Ore.) 1
The Slugs struck first with a service ace from Margo Melgoza but the Boxers began to take control as they worked to a slight 7-6 lead before extending it to 14-7 with a 7-1 run. From there, UCSC began to climb back into the contest, cutting the lead to 16-14 with a 7-2 run. The Slugs managed to pull within two once more at 19-17 but Pacific held off the late pressure to take set one 25-22.
 
The Slugs struck first once again in set two before working to an early tie at 7-7 with the Boxers as the set feature a tight back and forth battle. From there, the Slugs turned up the heat on the attack, using a 6-1 run to take a 13-8 lead with kills from Olly Gordon, Ashley Magley, and Heidi Collins. UC Santa Cruz continued to surge through the second set, using a 7-2 run with kills from Gordon and Kelly Ann Greene along with an ace from Abigail Lee to go up 20-13. Pacific couldn't find the answer down the stretch as Kelly Ann Greene and Drew Bryant recorded kills down the stretch with Kate Lau recording a service ace to seal the 25-13 set two win.
 
In the third set, the two teams traded leads until the Slugs broke through for an 8-5 lead before using a 10-5 run to increase the gap to 18-10. UC Santa Cruz continued to attack, utilizing kills from Greene and Gordon as well as blocks from Collins and Greene to go up 23-13. The Boxers made a late comeback attempt, cutting the lead to 23-17 but a kills from Ella Sniezek and Olly Gordon capped off the 25-18 win in set three.
 
The fourth set played out much like the previous three with both teams trading attacks, but the Slugs had the early advantage, working to a 5-3 lead before the Boxers countered to go up 7-6. From there, the Slugs stormed to a convincing 18-9 lead following a 11-3 run that saw kills from Gordon along with three service aces from Kelly Ann Greene. The run also featured blocks by Drew Bryant, Olly Gordon, and Ashley Magley. The Slugs were able to outscore the Boxers 7-5 down the stretch, ending the set with a service ace from Michaela Augustine, sealing the 25-14 set win and the 3-1 victory overall.
 
UC Santa Cruz 2, La Verne 3
The Slugs fell behind 3-0 early in set one with the Leopards extending their lead to 7-3 before an 8-0 run from UCSC put the Slugs on top 11-7. From there, ULV tried to make a comeback, but every attempt was pushed away as UCSC increased their lead to 18-12 with a 4-1 run with kills from Ashley Magley along with a block from Olly Gordon and Magley. The Banana Slugs increased their lead to 24-16 before ULV tried to surge once more with a 3-0 run but a kill from Drew Bryant gave the Slugs the 25-19 victory in the opening set.
 
The two teams traded early leads in the second set but after La Verne regained the lead at 6-3, the Leopards didn't look back as they edged their way to a 25-17 set two win, using a 4-0 run in the middle to widen the gap before outscoring UCSC 6-2 down the stretch to take the set.
 
In set three, UC Santa Cruz came out swinging, taking a 5-0 lead after Audrey Gilbert, Kate Lau, Olly Gordon, and Ashley Magley all recorded a kill with Gilbert also earning a service ace. The two teams traded attacks from there with the Slugs holding onto their lead at 10-9 before ULV went up 11-10. A kill from Drew Bryant briefly tied the set at 11-11 but a 6-0 run put ULV out in front 17-11. The Leopards momentum couldn't be stopped as they outscored UCSC 8-4 to close out the set and win 25-15.
 
The Slugs went up 2-0 quickly but ULV responded with a 4-0 run quickly. The Slugs countered with a 6-1 run to regain the lead at 8-5 as the two teams settled into their offense and traded attacks. ULV saw their best run come midway through the set as they used a 4-0 run to make it 16-13 but the Slugs responded promptly, using kills from Ashley Magley and Gabia Paliulis to highlight an 8-0 run that put them out in front 21-16. ULV pulled within two points at 23-21 with a 5-2 run but a ULV service error and kill from Drew Bryant gave the Slugs a 25-22 set four victory to send the match into the fifth set.
 
The Leopards jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in the fifth set, but the Slugs countered with a 5-0 run to tie things at 6-6. The Leopards charged forward with a 5-1 run to take the lead at 11-7 but the Slugs answered once again, using a 4-0 run to tie the game at 11-11. A 3-1 run from ULV gave them match point at 14-12 but Olly Gordon delivered a kill to cut things to 14-13. Unfortunately, an untimely service error by the Slugs ended the set 15-13, giving ULV the victory in a five-set thriller.