SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—UC Santa Barbara defeated CSU Bakersfield in straight sets in the opening match of the Gauchos' Thunderdome Classic Friday afternoon.

UCSB hit .462, compared to -.062 for CSUB in the opening set as the Gauchos earned a 25-11 victory. The Roadrunners took their first lead of the match at 12-11 in the second set. The teams played to a 14-14 tie before the Gauchos mounted a 6-0 charge that would result in a lead for UCSB that they would not relinquish. The Gauchos took the second set by a 25-20 count.  

The Roadrunners sped to several leads in the third set. Trailing 19-17, UC Santa Barbara scored the next three points to take the lead. Led by back-to-back Katie Dunbar-Lowe aces, CSUB responded by posting four of the next five points for 22-21 advantage. UCSB called timeout and responded with the next two points to tie the match at 23. After a Roadrunner timeout, Rowan Ellis' kill gave the Gauchos their first match point. A UCSB service error to the set at 24. Lindsey Ruddins' kill made it match point number two for the Gauchos. A CSUB hitting error proved to be the deciding point for UC Santa Barbara, completing the sweep 26-24.

UCSB would outhit the 'Runners .311 to .042 for the match. Ruddins led all players with 14 kills for the Gauchos. Chanel Hoffman had 11 kills for the Gauchos. Carol Grasso, making her season debut after a knee injury, paced the Roadrunners with 10 kills. Junior college transfer Fabiana Andrade also played for the first time this season for the 'Runners and she came away with 17 assists.

"We are not playing disciplined volleyball right now," said CSUB director of volleyball Giovana Melo. "The effort is there, and we are in games, but if we continue to play this way, it will be very difficult to win on a consistent basis."

CSUB continues action in the Thunderdome Classic Saturday when the Roadrunners face Baylor at 12:30 p.m. and Pittsburgh at 7 p.m.

~www.GoRunners.com~