SANTA CRUZ, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team went 1-1 on the day to open their 2025 campaign, dropping a tight five set match 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 25-15, 24-26, 15-10) with the Redlands Bulldogs before earning a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) sweep over the Lewis and Clark Pioneers to end the night. The 3-0 victory over the Pioneers is a career milestone for head coach Chad Koenegstein, standing as his first career win as a head coach. The Banana Slugs will be back in action tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. with their second match against Lewis and Clark.
Gabia Paliulis was the standout performer in game one, recording 18 kills with a .316 hitting percentage while dishing out seven service aces with 13 digs. Margo Melgoza dished out 27 assists in the contest while Kate Lau anchored the defense with 16 digs. In game two, Drew Bryant and Alice Taylor both recorded nine kills with Melgoza dishing out 19 assists while Lau finished the game with 10 digs.
 
UC Santa Cruz 2, University of Redlands 3
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start, earning the matches first three points before extending their lead to 9-5. The Banana Slugs surged back into things with a 5-0 run that saw back to back aces from Gabia Paliulis and a kill from Drew Bryant to put UCSC up 10-9. The set stayed fairly tight until Redlands used a 4-0 run to go up 21-16 but UCSC responded promptly with another 5-0 run to tie it at 21-21. The Bulldogs were able to outscore UCSC 4-2 down the stretch to take set one 25-23.

After an ace from the Bulldogs started set two, UCSC scored six straight points to take control early. A 4-0 run gave the Banana Slugs a convincing 11-3 lead but responded with an 8-2 run to close the gap at 13-11. UC Santa Cruz held off the pressure, closing out set two with kills from Pailulis and Heidi Collins to take the set 25-19.

Set three was back and forth in the early stages with UCSC leading 4-1 and later 7-6 but a 7-0 run from the Bulldogs put Redlands up 13-7. The Slugs responded with a 7-4 run to cut the deficit to three at 17-14 but Redlands ended the set on an 8-1 run to take set three 25-15.

A 5-0 run from UCSC set the tone early as Olly Gordon got things started with a kill and a block before Paliulis recorded another ace. Redlands slowly climbed back but UCSC extended their lead to 13-8 before the Bulldogs pulled within one at 13-12. From there, the two teams traded big runs with UCSC taking a late 23-19 lead. The Bulldogs took the momentum for a moment with a 5-0 run to take the lead at 24-23 but the Banana Slugs earned the next three points with a Redlands error, Alice Taylor ace, and a block from Olly Gordon to take set four 26-24.

In set five, Redlands quickly went up 3-1 but the Banana Slugs stormed back with an 8-2 run that saw kills from Margo Melgoza, Heidi Collins, Chisom Okaforize, and Gabia Paliulis. Redlands responded with a 9-0 run to take a 14-9 lead before earning the final kill to win set five 15-10 to take the match 3-2.
 
UC Santa Cruz 3, Lewis and Clark 0
The Pioneers and Banana Slugs played a competitive first set but the Slugs struck first and never looked back. UCSC went up 4-2 to get things started before extending their lead to 13-9. Lewis and Clark managed to pull within one at 15-14 but six straight points from UCSC put the Banana Slugs back in the driver seat, leading 21-14. The two teams went an even 4-4 down the stretch with Maddie Marshall recording the final kill to take set one 25-18.

In set two, UCSC started with a 3-0 run but the Pioneers answered with a quick 4-0 run to go up 4-3. The two teams went back and forth, working to a 10-10 tie before Lewis and Clark took a small 13-11 lead and later a 17-14 lead. From there, Drew Bryant recorded three straight kills with Margo Melgoza and Alessandra Ponzo adding to the run with a kill and an ace, putting UCSC up 20-19. The Banana Slugs kept their momentum down the stretch, outscoring Lewis and Clark 5-2 to take set two 25-21.

The Banana Slugs picked up right where they left off in set three, starting the game on a 5-1 run before taking a 10-5 lead. The Pioneers pulled within two at 11-9 but Charlotte Skulte recorded a kill and an ace to help make it 14-9. The Slugs kept swinging with kills from Melgoza, Taylor, Bryant, and Palliulis pushing the UCSC lead to 19-12. The Pioneers briefly went on a 3-0 run but UCSC closed out the match with six straight points to earn the 3-0 sweep over Lewis and Clark, clinching head coach Chad Koenegsteins first career victory as a head coach.