THOUSAND OAKS, Ca. – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team dropped a pair of matches on Saturday evening, falling to No. 16 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-14, 25-19) before falling 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-20) to California Lutheran. UC Santa Cruz will stay on their road for their next four contests as they travel to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. where they will take on No. 3 Hope, Mount Union, Gallaudet, and Mary Washington on Sept. 19 and Sept. 20.
 
UC Santa Cruz 1, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 3
The Banana Slugs offense was led by Gabia Paliulis and Heidi Collins as the duo both recorded nine kills with Paliulis also recording nine digs in the match. Margo Melgoza dished out 16 assists and anchored the defense with 13 digs.

UCSC played their best in the opening set, recording 12 kills with three errors for a .290 hitting percentage. The Athenas struck first and had the early momentum in the first set, taking a 6-2 lead, but UCSC quickly responded to tie things at 7-7 with two kills from Heidi Collins and two aces from Charlotte Skultt.  The two teams briefly traded leads with an Olly Gordon kill and a Kate Lau ace leading to an 11-10 lead before CMS jumped out to a 16-13 lead. UC Santa Cruz managed to fight back with kills from Collins and Gordon to tie the set at 18-18. After a quick CMS 4-0 run, the Banana Slugs closed out the set with a 7-1 run to take the game 25-23 with Gabia Paliulis earning the final kill.

CMS jumped out to a 4-1 lead in set two, but UCSC shot back with a 4-0 run to take a narrow 5-4 lead. From there, the Athenas turned up the heat, going on a 9-1 run to take a 13-6 lead. The Athenas didn't slow down as they continued to charge forward, take set two 25-14. The Athenas continued their attack in the third set, working to an early 13-4 lead before taking the set 25-14 again.

The Banana Slugs fell behind 5-2 in set four but quickly regrouped to take an 8-7 lead with three kills from Paliulis along with an ace from Drew Bryant. The two teams worked to an 11-11 tie before the Athenas pulled away at 15-11 and later 22-16. A 3-1 run from UCSC cut the lead to 23-19 but the Athenas took the final two points to take the set 25-19, handing the Slugs the 3-1 loss.
 
UC Santa Cruz 0, California Lutheran 3
Drew Bryant led the attack against the Regals, recording 11 kills and two aces while Margo Megloza dished out 22 assists on the night.

The Regals jumped out to an early 6-2 lead to put the pressure on and didn't slow down as they worked to a convincing 17-8 lead. The Banana Slugs managed to chip away at the CLU lead, closing the gap to 23-17 with kills from Gordon, Bryant, Alice Taylor, Margo Melgoza. Unfortunately, the Regals managed to find the next two points to take set one 25-17.

Cal Lutheran started set two on a 3-0 run and took a 7-2 lead and continued to charge forward, putting UCSC behind 13-5. The Slugs climbed back, cutting the lead to 16-12 with kills from Mia Ngo, Drew Bryant, and Gabia Paliulis. From there, CLU went on a 7-1 run before closing out the set with a kill and an ace to win 25-14.

UC Santa Cruz played a stronger third set, taking a 7-5 lead to get things started with kills from Chisom Okaforize, Olly Gordon, Drew Bryant, and Heidi Collins. Cal Lutheran managed to counter with a 9-1 run to take a 14-8 lead but UCSC fought back with kills from Gordon, Bryant, and a block from Gordon and Collins to pull within three at 15-12. The Banana Slugs later pulled within two points at 17-15 but Cal Lutheran escaped the late pressure as they outpaced UCSC down the stretch to win the set 25-20 to earn the 3-0 victory.