Friday, October 30
Bloomington, IL
12:30 PM PT | 2:30 PM CT
UC Santa Cruz Athletics
13-8,0-0CAC
0
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3
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Illinois Wesleyan University
23-1,8-0CCIW
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Santa Cruz | 22 | 17 | 22 | 0 |
| Ill. Wesleyan | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
10/30/2026 7:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
BLOOMINGTON, ILLI – The UC Santa Cruz women's volleyball team fell in both contests on Friday afternoon to open competition in Illinois. The Banana Slugs first fell to No. 1 Illinois Wesleyan University 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-22) in a hard-fought contest to open the afternoon. The high-level of competition continued versus No. 14 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in a 3-0 loss (25-18, 25-19, 25-14). Margo Melgoza posted the game high assists in both contests, starting the day with 27 and closing with 21. Shiraz Benyoucef statted a game-high 15 digs versus the highest-ranked team in the nation, Illinois Wesleyan. The Banana Slugs will continue their road trip in Illinois versus Millikin University on Saturday Oct. 31 at 8:00am PT/10:00am CT.
UC Santa Cruz 0, Illinois Wesleyan University 3
Maddie Marshall opened the match with a kill to set the tone in a high-level game of volleyball to be played. UC Santa Cruz opened to an 8-4 lead, and continued to lead by four for the early half of the set until the Titans responded on a 5-0 run to take the lead over the Banana Slugs. UCSC responded on a 4-0 run of their own to take over at 16-13 as the Banana Slugs took advantage of Illinois Wesleyan errors. The battle continued as the end of the set drew near, and late errors by UCSC became costly in a comeback by the Titans. After forcing three ties late in the set, including at 22-22, Illinois Wesleyan stole set one from UC Santa Cruz.
Olivia Phillips opened scores for UCSC to get set two underway. The Banana Slugs were unsettled to open the second set and fell 1-6 early to face an early deficit. Alice Taylor and Charlotte Skulte provide much-needed Banana Slug kills to fight for points to keep UCSC in comeback range. Marshall and Phillips led UCSC kills late in the set to keep the Titans within reach, including Phillips with four consecutive kills for UCSC scores in the set. Despite bringing the score to 17-21 with a comeback in reach, Illinois Wesleyan closed the set on a 4-0 run to take set two.
UC Santa Cruz dominated the opening to set three with an explosive 6-0 start including kills from Phillips, Charlotte Skulte, and Ella Sniezek. The lead expanded to a 13-5 run midway through the set as kills were coming from Slugs all around. The momentum slowly began to swap as the Titans felt the pressure from the Banana Slugs and started to find gaps in UCSC's defense. After facing a 16-16 tie, a kill from Melgoza put the Slugs up 17-16. The match saw three more ties as the Banana Slugs continued to fight to the final point but ultimately fell in set three to close out the matchup.
UC Santa Cruz 0, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3
In a quick turnaround in game two, UC Santa Cruz looked to find small victories early in the match. UCSC earned the first point of the match on a Wisconsin-Eau Claire service error, and Skulte swung the first kill of the contest for UCSC. The Slugs took an early 5-4 lead with a kill from Taylor, but errors began to add up for the Banana Slugs as they gave away crucial points to start the match. Despite the early errors, UCSC pieced together a comeback to tie up the set at 11 apiece on a kill from Khloe Pavia and took over the lead at 14-13 with a service ace from Rylan Vlasich. The Bluegolds responded with a 4-0 run to retake the lead that would hold for the remainder of the set.
UC Santa Cruz opened set two with a 4-2 lead and grew the lead to four midway through the set to lead at 9-5. Gabia Paliulis hit early kills for the Slugs with Melgoza and Sniezek tallying an ace apiece. Skulte and Paliulis continued to stat kills despite a run by the Bluegolds midway through the set. Wisconsin-Eau Claire took over the lead on a 5-0 run, but the Banana Slugs continued to fight for late set points. After fighting back within one at 19-20, the Slugs couldn't rally a point for the remainder of the set to drop the second.
Paliulis continued a strong game of kills to open set three and help put UCSC up early at 2-1. Kate Lau and Taylor kept the momentum up offensively for the Banana Slugs, each collecting two kills apiece in the middle of the set. Wisconsin-Eau Claire rallied together multiple runs to put UCSC in a tough position to make up. Multiple Banana Slugs earned kills late, including Marshall and Pavia, but the lead for the Bluegolds proved to be too high to come back from.
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UC Santa Cruz 0, Illinois Wesleyan University 3
Maddie Marshall opened the match with a kill to set the tone in a high-level game of volleyball to be played. UC Santa Cruz opened to an 8-4 lead, and continued to lead by four for the early half of the set until the Titans responded on a 5-0 run to take the lead over the Banana Slugs. UCSC responded on a 4-0 run of their own to take over at 16-13 as the Banana Slugs took advantage of Illinois Wesleyan errors. The battle continued as the end of the set drew near, and late errors by UCSC became costly in a comeback by the Titans. After forcing three ties late in the set, including at 22-22, Illinois Wesleyan stole set one from UC Santa Cruz.
Olivia Phillips opened scores for UCSC to get set two underway. The Banana Slugs were unsettled to open the second set and fell 1-6 early to face an early deficit. Alice Taylor and Charlotte Skulte provide much-needed Banana Slug kills to fight for points to keep UCSC in comeback range. Marshall and Phillips led UCSC kills late in the set to keep the Titans within reach, including Phillips with four consecutive kills for UCSC scores in the set. Despite bringing the score to 17-21 with a comeback in reach, Illinois Wesleyan closed the set on a 4-0 run to take set two.
UC Santa Cruz dominated the opening to set three with an explosive 6-0 start including kills from Phillips, Charlotte Skulte, and Ella Sniezek. The lead expanded to a 13-5 run midway through the set as kills were coming from Slugs all around. The momentum slowly began to swap as the Titans felt the pressure from the Banana Slugs and started to find gaps in UCSC's defense. After facing a 16-16 tie, a kill from Melgoza put the Slugs up 17-16. The match saw three more ties as the Banana Slugs continued to fight to the final point but ultimately fell in set three to close out the matchup.
UC Santa Cruz 0, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 3
In a quick turnaround in game two, UC Santa Cruz looked to find small victories early in the match. UCSC earned the first point of the match on a Wisconsin-Eau Claire service error, and Skulte swung the first kill of the contest for UCSC. The Slugs took an early 5-4 lead with a kill from Taylor, but errors began to add up for the Banana Slugs as they gave away crucial points to start the match. Despite the early errors, UCSC pieced together a comeback to tie up the set at 11 apiece on a kill from Khloe Pavia and took over the lead at 14-13 with a service ace from Rylan Vlasich. The Bluegolds responded with a 4-0 run to retake the lead that would hold for the remainder of the set.
UC Santa Cruz opened set two with a 4-2 lead and grew the lead to four midway through the set to lead at 9-5. Gabia Paliulis hit early kills for the Slugs with Melgoza and Sniezek tallying an ace apiece. Skulte and Paliulis continued to stat kills despite a run by the Bluegolds midway through the set. Wisconsin-Eau Claire took over the lead on a 5-0 run, but the Banana Slugs continued to fight for late set points. After fighting back within one at 19-20, the Slugs couldn't rally a point for the remainder of the set to drop the second.
Paliulis continued a strong game of kills to open set three and help put UCSC up early at 2-1. Kate Lau and Taylor kept the momentum up offensively for the Banana Slugs, each collecting two kills apiece in the middle of the set. Wisconsin-Eau Claire rallied together multiple runs to put UCSC in a tough position to make up. Multiple Banana Slugs earned kills late, including Marshall and Pavia, but the lead for the Bluegolds proved to be too high to come back from.
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Players Mentioned
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH/DS
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
Opp.
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
/ Women's VolleyballTeam Stats
UCSC
IWU
Kills
37
43
Errors
17
16
Attempts
117
117
Hitting %
.171
.231
Points
43.0
58.0
Assists
34
41
Aces
2
8
Blocks
4
7
Game Leaders
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
