Nov. 27, 2005

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The 64-team NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship field was announced Sunday, pairing UC Santa Barbara against 12th-seeded USC in first round action on Friday, Dec. 2.

The showdown between the unseeded Gauchos and Women of Troy will begin at approximately 7:00 p.m. in USC's Lyon Center, or 30 minutes after the conclusion of Friday's other opening round match between BYU and Pepperdine at 5:00 p.m. The winners of each contest will meet on Saturday, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. for the right to advance to the Regional Semifinals, held Dec. 9 in Stanford, Calif.

"It's a very tough draw, but we are happy to be one of two teams representing the Big West Conference in the NCAA Tournament," UCSB head coach Kathy Gregory stated. "After being sent out-of-state the past two years, we are elated that our fans and parents will have an opportunity to watch us play close to home."

Santa Barbara earned an at-large berth in the Big Dance after finishing the 2005 regular season at 21-8 overall and winning a share of its fourth-straight Big West title with a 12-2 league mark. Following a 4-7 start, the Gauchos have won 17 of their past 18 matches, including eight straight entering the NCAA's. UCSB posted a 6-7 record against fellow tourney teams, and is now one of only three programs in the country to qualify for all 25 NCAA Championships dating back to the tournament's inception in 1981. This marks the first time since 1989 that Santa Barbara will face a team on its home floor during the opening round of the Big Dance.

Junior outside hitter Janine Sandell - the Big West Player of the Year - paces the Gaucho attack at 5.26 kills per game, a mark that ranked eighth nationally as of last week. She was joined on the all-conference first team by senior middle blocker Megan Blackshire and sophomore opposite hitter Brett Quirarte, while Gregory earned her fourth straight Big West Coach of the Year award.

On the heels of NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003 as well as a Final Four appearance last year, USC earned an at-large berth this season thanks to a 16-10 overall record and fourth-place Pacific-10 Conference finish of 12-6. Seniors Bibliana Candelas and Stacy Venski lead the 13th-ranked Women of Troy offensively by averaging 4.91 and 4.36 kills per game, respectively. USC owns a 17-9 advantage in all-time series with Santa Barbara, winning the last three meetings including a 3-0 sweep in the Thunderdome on Nov. 26, 2002.

On the other side of the draw, BYU is 25-3 overall and won the Mountain West Conference regular season title before falling in the league tourney championship match to Utah on Saturday. The Cougars have won their last three matches against UCSB to improve to 6-4 all-time, most recently posting a 3-0 sweep in Provo, Utah on Sept. 26, 2001. Like BYU, Pepperdine is unseeded and earned an at-large NCAA berth after finishing regular season play at 17-11 overall and 10-4 in the West Coast Conference. One of the Waves' losses came was a 3-0 sweep by the Gauchos in Malibu, Calif., on Oct. 18. Santa Barbara is 27-16 in its longstanding rivalry with Pepperdine.

Ticket information and details regarding live radio broadcasts of the Gauchos' NCAA Tournament matches will be announced shortly.