UC Santa Barbara’s Geste Bianchi was crucial in the Gauchos' win over No. 19 UC San Diego and earned Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the efforts. The weekly award is Bianchi’s third of 2024 (Jan. 8, Jan. 29). 

Bianchi tallied 23 kills and 13 digs in the five-setter, marking a third double-double of the season. This was also the 11th-straight match where the redshirt junior from Laguna Beach, Calif., registered double-digit kills. 

Bianchi also added two aces, a block and an assist in UCSB’s win. 

is currently pacing The Big West and the nation in attacks (10.80) and kills (4.73) per set and rates second in points per set with a 5.38 average. 

Anchoring the UC Santa Barbara defense to a 3-2 win against No. 19 UC Santa Barbara, Jaden Glenn secured a first career weekly honor as Big West Defensive Player of the Week. 

Glenn had his best performance of the season with 18 digs in the five-set victory, or 3.6 digs per set. This is the third double-digit dig tally of the season, and a new career high benchmark. 

The redshirt junior from Corona Del Mar, Calif., also helped the offense with five assists in the win, matching a career-best. 

The win snapped a six-match slide for the Gauchos, giving UCSB a first Big West victory of the year. 

Despite dropping a pair of contests to the nation’s No. 1 team, CSUN’s Jalen Phillips was awarded Big West Freshman of the Week after leading the Matadors’ attack. This is the first weekly award for the redshirt freshman from Anaheim, Calif. 

Phillips was CSUN's top hitter in both matches against top-ranked Long Beach State.  

The opposite hitter had a team-high nine kills to go with seven digs and one block in Long Beach, before putting down a team-high 11 kills while hitting .526 (11-1-19) with a block on Saturday in Northridge. 

The 11-kill effort in the rematch was Phillips’ 14th double-digit tally this season. Phillips is currently averaging 3.10 kills per set, tops for a Big West first-year player and fifth overall in the conference.