SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team split with the Whittier Poets in their double header on Saturday afternoon in the West Field House. The Banana Slugs fell to Whittier College in straight sets in game one, falling 25-20, 25-19, 29-27 before earning a five set 3-2 (18-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-27, 15-11) victory in game two to cap off the action. Most notably, Kate Lau had a stellar day on attack, recording 26 kills in game two with a .295 hitting percentage while picking up another seven kills in game two. Lau also recorded 23 digs in game two to go with her 26 kills while Shiraz Benyoucef picked up 26 digs in the game two victory. Alessandra Ponzo facilitated much of the attack, recording 49 assists in game two and another 12 in game one. The Banana Slugs will be back in action on Oct. 17 and Oct. 18 when they travel to Christopher Newport for matches against Salisbury, CNU, and Mary Washington.

UC Santa Cruz 0, Whittier 3
The opening set stayed close early as Kate Lau and Mia Ngo each found success attacking in the opening moments of action. Lau connected on a series of quick kills to keep UCSC within striking distance at 8-8 before Whittier went on a 6-0 run to go up 14-8. From there, the Poets continued to surge forward, jumping out to a 21-13 lead before UCSC ccould close the gap to 23-18 with a short 5-2 run. Both teams traded two kills down the stretch with Whittier taking the set 25-20.

Set two again opened evenly with UCSC's attack showing balance. Gabia Paliulis and Kate Lau registered multiple early to tie the game at 6-6. Whittier countered with two quick points but a 4-0 run from UCSC put the Banana Slugs up 10-8. The Poets managed to rally back and fight to a 17-13 lead, but the Banana Slugs stayed close as Paliulis, Lau, and Maddie Marshall all recorded kills to cut the lead to 19-18. The Poets regrouped and closed out the set on a 6-1 run to win set two 25-19.

The third set was the most competitive of the match as UCSC and Whittier fought until the very end with the Banana Slugs holding an early advantage at 5-4 and later 12-8 with kills from Mia Ngo, Olly Gordon, Gabia Paliulis, Charlotte Skulte, and Heidi Collins highlighting the early attack. After UCSC extended their lead to 15-10, the Poets closed the gap to 16-15 with a 5-1 run. The two teams went back and forth but UCSC preserved their lead to 23-19 but a 4-0 run from Whittier quickly tied the set at 23-23. From there, the back and forth ensued as the game found itself tied four more times before Whittier delivered a 3-0 run to take the set 29-27 and earn the 3-0 sweep.

UC Santa Cruz 3, Whittier 2
The Poets took the opening set of game two 25-18 despite the game featuring close back and forth action in the early going with the Poets and Banana Slugs working to an 8-8 tie. The Poets managed to force the 8-8 tie during a 12-2 run to go up 18-10, putting UCSC in an early hole. Despite cutting the lead to five points at 20-15, the Banana Slugs couldn't erase the deficit as the Poets took set one after a 5-3 run gave them the victory at 25-18.

Set two started in UCSC's favor as they opened the game on a 3-0 run with two kills from Kate Lau and an ace from Alessandra Ponzo. UCSC continued to apply pressure, extending their lead to 12-6 and later 15-10. The two teams quickly traded attacks before Whittier used a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 19-16. From there, the Poets and Banana Slugs went an even 6-6 with UC Santa Cruz taking set two 25-22 to tie the match 1-1.

The Banana Slugs started the third set with another 3-0 run before taking a 6-2 lead with Charlotte Skulte, Kate Lau, Ella Sniezek, and Mia Ngo all registering kills. The Poets rallied back, putting momentum on their side momentarily as they took an 11-9 lead and later a 13-11 lead. The Banana Slugs responded well, quickly tying things at 13-13 before regaining control at 17-15 with kills from Lau, Paliulis, and Olly Gordon. Whittier countered once again, rallying to take the lead at 18-17 and 21-20 after back to back errors from UCSC. The Banana Slugs regrouped as they saw Kate Lau go on a tear, recording four kills with a Ponzo ace leading to a 5-1 run that gave UCSC the 25-22 set three win.

The Poets started with a 3-0 run over their own in set four before taking a strong 11-5 lead to take the early advantage. The Poets led all the way to 18-16 but UCSC erased the lead with a 3-0 run with kills from Gordon and Lau and an ace from Paliulis. Despite the late lead change, the two teams traded 3-0 runs with UCSC coming out with a small one point lead at 22-21. The Poets played well down the stretch to fend off match point as UCSC worked to a 25-24 lead. The Poets worked out of the jam, forcing a fifth set after taking the next three points to take set four 27-25.

In the decisive fifth set, it seemed to be all Poets in the early going with Whittier jumping out to a 7-2 lead, but the Banana Slugs would not be denied as they took the next six points to take the wind out of the sails of the Poets. The run stunned the Poets as they managed one point after the side change before UCSC recorded a 5-0 run with kills from Skulte, Ngo, and Paliulis to extend their lead to 13-8. After a 3-1 run from Whittier, Maddie Marshall ended the contest with the game's final kill with an attack to the back line, giving UCSC the 15-11 fifth set win and the 3-2 victory overall.