| No. 1 seed UC Davis 3, No. 4 seed UC Santa Barbara 1 |
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LONG BEACH, Calif. — Regular-season champion UC Davis defeated fourth-seeded UC Santa Barbara 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 29-27, 27-25) on Friday at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid in the semifnal reound of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Women's Volleyball Championship.
The victory advances the top-seeded Aggies to a 21-6 mark on the season and a place in their first Big West Championship finale, where they will take on the winner of the semifinal matchup between No. 2 Cal Poly and No. 3 Long Beach State. UC Davis split the regular-season series against the Beach and fell on the road against the Mustangs for their only two blemishes in league action.
UC Davis narrowly captured the opening set against UCSB, ending 25-23. The Aggies capitalized on service errors by UCSB, contributing to their early lead. Ally Chandler's decisive kill, assisted by Mia Starr, sealed the set for UC Davis, despite a late surge by UCSB led by Eva Travis' two kills.
The Gauchos were able to knot the score in the second, taking a 25-23 set victory. UC Davis mounted a late rally in the frame, clawing back from a 23-18 deficit to tie at 23, with Big West Libero of the Year Ximena Cordero Barr holding serve.However, UC Santa Barbara sealed the set with a timely kill by Travis and a decisive service ace from Cortni Youngblood. U
UC Davis captured the third set 29-27, overcoming a late challenge by UCSB after the Gauchos erased a 20-17 deficit to take the lead at 25-24 and again at 27-26 on decisive strikes from Travis. The set concluded with Big West Player of the Year Jade Light and Allie Caldwell's combining for the final three points of the sest. A kill off the hand of Light tied the score at 27-all, then Light and Caldwell combined on the block of an Emma McDermott attept before Caldwell's decisive kill finalized the tense back-and-forth contest.
The teams again played to extra points in the fourth, with the set punctuated by 20 ties and eight lead changes in the 27-25 frame. UC Davis gained momentum with service aces from Rachel Dunagan and Light, pivotal blocks from Mia Starr and Chandler, while Light and Brooke Hibino combined for crucial kills. Despite UCSB's attempts to rally, including kills by Travis and Layanna Green, UC Davis secured the win to advance to the finale.
Big West Setter of the Year Starr led UC Davis with an impressive 40 assists and contributed defensively with 21 digs. Light proved to be effective in scoring, amassing 19 total points, with a 15 kills, 10 dig double-double. Cordero Barr closed with 16 digs as the Aggies saw five players reach double-figure dig efforts. UC Davis recorded nine service aces while posting 73 digs in the match.
Travis led the Gauchos with a match-best 24 kills to set a new Big West Championship record. The trio of Jordyn Johnson (6 blocks), McDermott (five, three solo) and Kiersten Schmitt (five) were a force at the net as the Gachos held a 14 to nine block advantage. Big West Freshman of the Year Gabi Martinez registered 19 digs in the match. UCSB caps the season at 23-9.
Gallery: (11-28-2025) 25 WVB Champs: No. 1 UCD vs No. 4 UCSB