WASHINGTON, D.C. –  The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team dropped a pair of five set matches to wrap up the 2025 Worthington Classic on Saturday afternoon, falling to Gallaudet 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-17, 15-5) and Mary Washington 3-2 (19-25, 14-25, 25-18, 26-24, 15-12). Shiraz Benyoucef was named to the 2025 Worthington Classic All-Tournament Team as the libero, recording 27 digs against Gallaudet and another five against Mary Washington. Charlotte Skulte led the offense with 11 kills against the Bison while Kate Lau, Drew Bryant, and Gabia Paliulis dished out 13 kills, 11 kills, and 10 kills, respectively, against the Eagles. Notably, Bryant also dished out eight service aces against Mary Washington. The Banana Slugs will return to Santa Cruz and get a bit of a break in their schedule, hosting Whittier for two matches on Oct. 4 at 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
 
UC Santa Cruz 2, Gallaudet 3
The opening set of action was tight as the two teams fought back and forth to a 10-10 tie before UCSC broke loose with a 10-1 run, featuring kills from Kate Lau, Charlotte Skulte, and Drew Bryant. From there, the two teams went an even 5-5 with a block from Charlotte Skulte and Margo Melgoza ending the set 25-16 in favor of the Banana Slugs.

Despite early momentum for UCSC with the Banana Slugs leading 10-6 and later 15-11, the Bison surged forward with a 7-0 run to take an 18-15 lead. UCSC briefly pulled within two points at 20-18 but the Bison earned the 25-20 set two win with a 5-2 run.

UC Santa Cruz responded in the third, taking a 6-1 run out of the set break with a kill from Skulte, a block from Olly Gordon and Skulte, and an ace from Gabia Paliulis. The surge continued as UCSC worked their way to a 12-5 lead and later a 20-13 lead, leaving the Bison with some work to do. The Slugs kept swinging as Skulte, Bryant, and Lau all recorded kills down the stretch to take the set 25-18.

The tide began to turn in the fourth set as the Bison put UCSC behind 10-3 and worked to a 14-5 lead before UCSC could begin to build their attack. The Banana Slugs closed the gap to 14-9 with a quick 4-0 run and later pulled within three points at 18-15 thanks to a collection of errors by the Bison. Gallaudet managed to recover, closing out set four on a 7-1 run to take the set 25-17 and force a fifth set.

The Bison wasted little time in the fifth set, using an 8-0 run to erase an early 2-1 advantage by the Banana Slugs, putting the Bison ahead 9-2. The Banana Slugs struggled to find their footing as Gallaudet outscored UCSC 6-2 in the final moments of action, earning the 15-5 fifth set win to defeat UCSC 3-2.
 
UC Santa Cruz 2, Mary Washington 3
UC Santa Cruz got off to a quick start against the Eagles, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead and later fighting to a 15-8 advantage as Skulte, Bryant, Melgoza, Paliulis, and Gordon all chimed in for kills. The Eagles countered late with a 5-0 run to close the gap to three at 17-14 but UCSC outpaced the Eagles 8-5 to take set one 25-19.

After an early back and forth that saw UMW take a slight 4-3 lead in set two, the Banana Slugs went on a scorching 14-1 run that included 11 unanswered points to take a 17-5 lead. In that stretch, UCSC saw kills from Kate Lau, Drew Bryant, and Olly Gordon along with five service aces from Byrant. The Eagles were able to respond with a 5-0 run, but UCSC finished the set on an 8-4 run to take set two 25-14, going up 2-0 on the match.

Set three saw the Eagles take a narrow early advantage but UCSC hung in there, tying things at 8-8 before UMW could build a 15-10 lead. The Banana Slugs stayed close, pulling within three points at 20-17 with kills from Lau, Melgoza, Bryant, and Paliulis but Mary Washington rallied late with a 5-1 run to take set three 25-18.

In set four, the two teams played a tight first few points with UMW briefly leading 10-9 but UCSC took seven of the next eight points to go up 16-11. The Banana Slugs managed to fend off the pressure from the Eagles, holding onto their lead all the way to 23-20, but the Eagles pressured late to tie things at 23-23. A Mary Washington service error but UCSC ahead 24-23 for match point but the Eagles scored three straight to take set four 26-24 and force the Banana Slugs second five set match of the day.

The two teams traded 4-0 runs to find themselves tied at 4-4 before the Banana Slugs took a slight 6-4 lead with a kill from Skulte. The Eagles fired off a 6-1 run to go up 10-7. UC Santa Cruz fought to tie the game at 11-11 with a kill from Kate Lau and a solo block from Olly Gordon. Despite the late push, Mary Washington managed to close out the set on a 4-1 run to win set five 15-12 and reverse sweep UCSC with the 3-2 win.