SANTA CRUZ, Ca — The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team earned a commanding 3–0 (25–21, 25–22, 25–15) victory over Lewis & Clark on Friday night, picking up their second straight sweep over the Pioneers. UC Santa Cruz will wrap up opening weekend tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. when they host the Occidental Tigers. Gabia Paliulis led the attack for the second straight night, ending the game with 12 kills, three aces, and eight digs while Margo Melgoza dished out 24 assists.

How It Happened
UC Santa Cruz opened the evening with energy, quickly establishing a 9–3 advantage thanks to two service aces from Abigail Lee and kills from Gabia Paliulis, Chisom Okaforize, and Drew Bryant. After Lewis & Clark closed the gap midway through the set to tie things at 14-14, the Slugs answered with a 9–1 run fueled by kills from Okaforize, Bryant, and Alice Taylor, putting UCSC up 22-15. The Pioneers attempted to fight back late, using a 7-2 run to pull within two points at 24-22 but Olly Gordon delivered the final kill to take set one 25-22.

The second set proved to be the most competitive of the night with the Pioneers jumping out to an early 5-2 lead before forcing a UC Santa Cruz timeout at 11-5. Out of the break, the Banana Slugs surged forward with a 10-3 run to take the lead at 15-14, forcing Lewis and Clark to call a timeout of their own. From there, the set remained tight, but UCSC outscored the Pioneers 10-7 down the stretch with kills from Gabia Paliulis, Olly Gordon, and Michaela Augustine to take set two 25-21.

With the sweep in sight, UC Santa Cruz dominated from the opening serve of the third set. The Slugs jumped ahead 12–5 following a string of aces from Paliulis along with kills from Bryant, Margo Melgoza, and Claudia Moeller. After a Lewis & Clark timeout, UCSC continue to push forward, working to a 21-10 lead with a 9-5 run. The Pioneers managed to outscore UCSC 5-4 down the stretch, but Margo Melgoza delivered the game winning kill to seal the 25-15 set win and the sweep for UC Santa Cruz.