DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis senior Lauren Matias finished with a team-high 14 kills, while sophomore setter Jane Seslar added a double-double of 27 assists and 12 digs, but the Aggies could not overcome a .394 hitting night by visiting UC Santa Barbara, falling 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 26-24) to the Big West Conference co-leaders on Thursday night at The Pavilion.

UC Davis suffered its first home defeat of the season in nine tries, falling to 12-9 overall and 4-4 in league play.

Led by 18 kills from Lindsey Ruddins, who also hit .548 on the night, and 10 more from Tallulah Froley, the Gauchos kept pace in the Big West standings with Cal Poly, improving to 17-2 overall and 7-1 in league. UC Santa Barbara was receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll released on Monday.

For Matias, it was her team-best 15th double-digit kill performance of the year, moving to within 86 kills of 1,000 for her career following Thursday night. Seslar, meanwhile, logged her seventh double-double of the season -- the latter tied for her second-highest total of the season behind only her 14 digs against Sacramento State back on Sept. 3.

Junior Alexa Rockas added four blocks and hit .500 (6-1-10) on the night, while senior Ally Reyes posted three of the team's five service aces for the match.

Thursday's opening set featured 13 ties and seven lead changes as the two teams went back and forth. A late run helped the Gauchos inch away as a kill by Gigi Ruddins sparked a final kick that saw the visitors score nine of the final 11 points in the set after the Aggies had fought back to tie things up at 16-all.

UC Davis had its best performance in the second set, hitting at a .323 clip, but were put in an early hole, falling behind 7-1 before clawing its way back. Trailing 10-3, a kill by Rockas got the ball back for the Aggies who exploded for seven straight points behind the serving of freshman Perri Starkey, tying things up at 10 apiece.

A 6-1 burst by the Gauchos rebuilt their lead to 16-11, and eventually led 18-13, but UC Davis had another rally in it, going on an 8-2 run of its own to take the lead, 21-20, on an error by UCSB. The Gauchos then got big at the net, with a block to tie the set and another to end it, scoring the final two points for a 25-23 victory.

The third set was another see-saw battle, this time with 14 ties and seven lead changes, as the Aggies caught fire midway though for an eventual 14-11 lead thanks to a 7-2 run. UC Davis led again by two at 18-16 after a Gaucho rally, and held a 20-17 advantage as the back-and-forth continued

Sophomore Mahalia White brought UC Davis even at 23 with a kill and had another to fight off match point and tie things up again at 24 before Lindsay and Gigi Ruddins collected back-to-back kills to finish off the match.

UC Davis closes out the weekend on Saturday (Oct. 26) at 7 p.m., hosting Cal Poly at The Pavilion. Fans who have a ticket to the Aggies' 4 p.m. football game against Weber State can present their ticket for a discount to the volleyball match against the Mustangs. The team will also hold a post-game autograph session following the contest.
 

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