THOUSAND OAKS, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team handed the University of Redlands Bulldogs their first loss of the 2025 season at the Cal Lu Fornia Invitation, winning a thrilling five set rematch from the UCSC home opener. The Banana Slugs and Bulldogs went five sets for the second time this season with UC Santa Cruz coming out on top, winning 25-22, 19-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-12. Gabia Paliulis led the attack for UCSC with 11 kills and seven digs while Drew Bryant and Charlotte Skulte chimed in for 10 kills and eight kills, respectively. Skulte ended the night with a team high .467 hitting percentage while leading the team with six service aces. Kate Lau anchored the defense with 14 digs while Margo Melgoza dished out 32 assists.
 
How It Happened
The Banana Slugs came out swinging in set one, starting the night on an 11-3 run with kills from Charlotte Skulte, Olly Gordon, and Gabia Paliulis. The two teams went an even 9-9 in points as UCSC took a 20-12 before the Bulldogs tried to rally back. Redlands went on a 9-4 run from there, forcing a UCSC timeout, leading 24-22. Out of the break, Mia Ngo was able to record the final kill to take set one 25-22.
Despite an early 4-1 lead for UCSC in set two, the Bulldogs narrowly outpaced the Banana Slugs throughout the set, tying things at 4-4, working through 12 separate ties before using a quick 4-0 run to go up 19-16. The Bulldogs closed out the set 6-3 to take set two 25-19.
In set three, Redlands started out on a 5-0 run before UCSC rallied back with an 11-6 run to tie things at 11-11. The two teams continued to trade attacks, but Redlands prevailed as they outscored UCSC 14-10 to take set three 25-21.
Trailing 2-1 in the match, UC Santa Cruz came out swinging in set four as they charged forward to a 15-2 lead with kills from Bryant, Paliulis, Heidi Collins, and Gordon. Redlands responded with a convincing 12-4 run to cut the lead to 19-14 but UCSC outscored the Bulldogs 6-4 down the stretch with Heidi Collins delivering the final kill to force a decisive fifth set.
Redlands struck first in set five, but UCSC went on an 8-4 run with kills from Skulte, Gordon, and Paliulis. UC Santa Cruz continued to pull away at 12-7 with two kills from Skulte. Redlands made a late surge with a 5-2 run, closing the gap to 14-12 but Heidi Collins delivered the final kill once again, giving UCSC the 15-12 victory in the set to seal the 3-2 victory on the night.