UCSB, picked to finish in fourth place in this year’s Big West Conference women’s volleyball race, will open its season on Friday at San Jose State
Matt Jones is facing one of those “keeping-up-with-the-Joneses” challenges.
He must live up to the legend of a woman known as “The Queen” of their sport when he embarks this week on a pivotal third season as the first male head coach in the 54-year history of UC Santa Barbara women’s volleyball.
The uber-dynamic Kathy Gregory guided the Gauchos for 38 of those seasons.
“I hope I don’t blow it,” Jones replied with a smile when asked about being UCSB’s male pioneer in the women’s game.
The three women who coached the Gauchos during their first 50 years of existence all enjoyed varying degrees of success.
Chris Accornero, the “founding mother” of the program, guided UCSB to three consecutive AIAW Final Fours (1972 to 1974) during the sport’s pre-NCAA era.
Gregory kept the ball rolling from 1975 to 2012 by leading the Gauchos to 882 victories and 27 NCAA tournaments. She was voted National Coach of the Year in 1993.
Nicole Lantagne Welch capped her decade as Gregory’s successor with three consecutive 20-plus-win seasons.
UCSB’s Eva Travis rips one of her team-leading 378 kills last season. She earned All-Big West Conference First Team honors and was also named as the league’s Freshman of the Year. Credit: Jeff Liang / UCSB Athletics photo
Jones, who served as Welch’s assistant for six years, inherited a “senior-heavy” roster when he took over in 2023.
“I was the most spoiled first-year head coach ever,” he said.
Jones’ 2023 Gauchos compiled records of 27-5 overall and 17-1 in the Big West Conference to win their first league championship since Welch’s first season of 2013.
But Jones has been rebuilding his roster ever since.
He leaned heavily last year on Big West Freshman of the Year Eva Travis, a springy outside hitter from Laguna Beach High School.
Travis took 1,012 swings while recording a team-best 378 kills for a UCSB team that went 14-16 overall and 10-8 in conference.
“We’d obviously like to have a more balanced attack this year,” Jones said.
He believes he’s gotten it by recruiting five highly regarded high school players as well as a transfer from Iowa State.
Jones will see how well they mesh with his eight returning players when UCSB opens its season with matches at San José State at 3 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.
“I think we’re going in the right direction,” he said.
Coach Class
Jones, a prolific outside hitter at both La Jolla High School and Harvard University, wasn’t sure where volleyball would take him after playing a season overseas in Luxembourg.
“I started thinking out loud, ‘OK, what else can I do?’” he said.
Harvard coach Brian Baise heard him. He alerted his former captain about an opening for a men’s volleyball coach at Santa Barbara City College.
“I was like 23 at the time,” Jones said. “I’d coached club but didn’t have a huge résumé.
“I applied mostly for the interview reps, to be honest.”
He was surprised when SBCC offered him the job.
Jones coached the Vaqueros for three seasons, from 2014 to 2016.
Alyssa Jones gave birth to daughter Devyn in 2023, just two months before husband Matt’s first match as head coach of the UCSB women’s volleyball team. Credit: Jones family photo
He augmented his paycheck by administering the boys’ program at the Santa Barbara Volleyball Club and coaching its 18-and-under team.
“Once I was in year two at City College, it became more serious for me,” Jones said.
“I was like, ‘This is the career I want to commit to.’”
Baise brought him back to Harvard as his assistant for one season.
The move became even more transformational when Jones was asked to also assist the Crimson’s women’s team.
“That was my first toe in the water, working with a women’s team,” he said.
It didn’t take long for Jones — a mathematics major while at Harvard — to do the math on job opportunities.
Only 28 colleges play Division I men’s volleyball … while 334 sponsor women’s volleyball.
“I could see where there was a very realistic chance that I could end up on that side,” he said.
It happened just a year later when Welch brought him back to Santa Barbara as her new Gaucho assistant.
He found the transition to women’s volleyball to be fairly seamless.
“Teaching the game isn’t wildly different, at least the way we do it,” Jones began.
“Women in groups are different than men in groups stereotypically, so there are definitely differences there,” he added. “Just team management and player management and what they value and those kinds of things.
“But the individual piece is more similar.
“There is a range of personalities, and you have to be able to mold and communicate and connect with all different personality types. That doesn’t really change.”
He hopes his coaching position never changes.
The Santa Barbara roots for the family of his wife, Alyssa, go back to 1878.
The next branch of that family tree sprouted when their daughter, Devyn Ryann Jones, was born barely two months before dad’s first match as UCSB’s head coach in 2023.
“My goal is to stay here forever,” he said.
Depth Charges
Jones is fast-forwarding to the future with this year’s freshman class.
“All five are definitely in the mix,” he said. “They’re getting up to speed very quickly.”
They add to a front line that returns three seniors — 6-foot middle Layanna Green, 6-2 outside Sophie Reavis and 6-2 middle Grace Wuischpard — as well as 6-2 sophomore outside Emma McDermott.
Also back are sophomore defensive specialists Cortni Youngblood and Bianca Nistor, as well as setters Michelle Zhao, a redshirt senior, and junior Milan Rex.
The roster includes five others who redshirted last year: setter Katrina Catalan; middles Sandrea Thomas, Caroline Foraker and Anna Boatner; and outside hitter Kate Martin.
“It felt like we had a pretty good spring with this group, and they’ve grown and matured quite a bit,” Jones said.
“We’re still going to be on the younger side, but we’re also more experienced and ready to go this year.”
Travis, an All-Big West first-team selection last year, was a slam-dunk selection to the preseason all-league team that the coaches announced last week.
From left, Sophie Reavis, Eva Travis and Emma McDermott are all back from last season’s UCSB women’s volleyball team. Credit: Jeff Liang / UCSB Athletics photo
The Gauchos — picked fourth in the coaches’ preseason poll behind Hawai‘i, Cal Poly and UC Davis — showed their potential on Saturday by defeating UCLA 3-2 in an exhibition match.
Travis flew a little under the radar as a 5-foot-10 high school recruit — but she gained plenty of attention last season with how high she flew above the net.
“She’s considered to be a little undersized for our level, but she’s very strong and super-explosive,” Jones said. “She flies off the floor and has a real live arm.
“She also broad jumps well, so she’s really good coming out of the back row.”
Travis’ passing and blocking have also developed into assets, he added.
Jones never worried about her cashing in a lucrative NIL (name, image and likeness) offer by transferring to a power-conference school like other young, midmajor stars.
“I think she loves it here,” he said. “She’s bought into what we’re doing here, so it wasn’t a real major concern for us.
“We want to keep all of our kids. We want to have as consistent a team and program as we can have, and having Eva is a piece of that.”
He did lose Harper Hall, a freshman setter who led the Gauchos in both assists and digs last year.
The native of Highland Park, Texas, was lured away by Oklahoma head coach Aaron Mansfield, a former UCSB All-American and assistant coach.
Frosh Approach
Jones recruited 5-foot-6 freshman dynamo Ayva Ostovar to fill Hall’s shoes.
She led Mater Dei High to a pair of California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division 1 championships as well as to the 2023 MaxPreps High School national championship.
“We’ve got a bunch of good arms to go with Ayva, who’s going to be a good setter in our 6-2 (two-setter) system,” Jones said. “They all fit the mold of what we’re trying to do here.
“With the 6-2, we want to find undersized, undervalued setters that we see great value in … who can run our fast offense and locate and be great defenders.”
Jones searched the globe to rearm his offensive attack.
Matt Jones coached the men’s volleyball team at Santa Barbara City College before he was hired to help coach the UCSB women’s team. Credit: Jeff Liang / UCSB Athletics photo
The freshman recruits include 6-2 outside hitter Ema Petkovic from Serbia; 5-11 outside hitter Gabi Martinez from Katy, Texas; 6-1 opposite Avery Gibbs from Loveland, Colorado; and 6-1 middle Jordyn Johnson from Saint Paul, Minnesota.
“(These) front-row players have a chance to make an impact for us for three or four years, so it’s real exciting,” Jones said.
Kiersten Schmitt, a 6-2 outside hitter, adds another weapon after having played at Iowa State for the last two seasons.
“She’s a dynamic athlete who plays high above the net,” Jones said.
Schmitt got the chance to bond with the team during the spring training season.
Team chemistry, however, began percolating even before that.
“We’ve talked about captains since January,” Jones said. “This team opted to go all hands on deck with no official captain’s model … and it’s actually worked really well.
“I think all of our seniors have really bought into that culture piece — using their voice and doing the little things around the gym and locker room — to really drive the boat.”
As an old English saying (sort of) goes, man may coach them from sun to sun, but the women’s work is never done.
Danielle Cirrito during Jan. 9 race. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Athletics
Stony Brook women’s track & field competed in its first meet of the New Year on Jan. 9 at the TCNJ Invitational from The Armory in New York City. As a team, the Seawolves recorded seven top-eight placements.
HIGHLIGHTS
Amelie Guzman recorded a second-place finish in the 3,000m (10:15.53).
Danielle Cirrito finished second in the mile run event (5:06.99).
Olivia Schwartz placed third in the 500m (1:18.24).
Sophia Squires produced a fifth-place finish in the mile run (5:10.08).
Samantha Osei-Kyei finished fifth in the 500m (1:18.81).
Jade Pazmino placed sixth in the 800m event (2:29.07).
Alejandra Garcia produced a seventh place run in the mile, setting a new PR with a time of 5:13.33.
Up next, the team continues its busy January slate next Friday returning to The Armory for the Ramapo College Invitation on January 16, with action set to begin at 9:30 am.
WINCHESTER, Va. – After a week in Florida leading into the spring semester, the Franklin & Marshall’s women’s track & field team competed at Shenandoah’s Kaye & JJ Smith Invitational. The Diplomats got the January portion of their schedule off to a great start with a pair of school records, with four other marks that rank in the top 10 in program history.
Tara Silverman broke the school record in the 3,000 meters that was formerly held by All-American and F&M Hall of Famer Sheena Crawley ’13. Silverman finished in a time of 10:19.87. Teammates Annalise Kauffman (11:01.19) and Georgeia Hodgson (11:36.98) finished second and sixth in that same event.
Lauren Dunnigan once again broke her own school record in the 60 meter dash as she finished with a time of 7.75 seconds during the finals of that event. That is currently the second-fastest time in the Centennial Conference this season. Dunnigan was also the individual champion in the 200 meter dash as her time of 26.56 seconds was the second-fastest in school history. Dunnigan capped her day with a time of 9.15 seconds to take first (her third event title of the day) in the 60 meter hurdles.
The Diplomats finished with five individual titles on Sunday as Jordyn Collie won the 400 meters with a time of 1:05.42. Her performance highlighted seven Diplomats in the top 10 of that event, as Avery Canady (1:06.33) and Abby Bachman (1:06.52) took the silver and bronze positions. Collie was also the team’s top finish in the 800 meters (2:33.68), with Bachman (2:44.52) and Sophia Bloom (2:53.15) each turning in top 10 individual finishes.
Amanda Imhauser and Hayden Adams both had busy days in their return to competition. Imhauser was third in the 60 meter hurdles (10.24) and long jump (4.84m), sixth in the high hump (1.35m) and shot put (9.30m), and seventh in the 200 meters (29.14). Adams took third in the pole vault as she cleared 3.20 meters to rank second in school history. She added a fifth-place showing in the high jump (1.38m). Max McCoy led the Diplomats in the both throwing events as she took third in the shot put (11.13m) and fourth in the weight throw (12.07m). Both of those marks were top 10 performances in school history.
Women’s track & field will return to competition this Saturday, January 17 when the team travels to Catholic’s Cardinal Classic.
Franklin & Marshall Event Winners / Top 10 Performances
60 Meters
1. Lauren Dunning (7.75) – school record
200 Meters
1. Lauren Dunnigan (26.56) – second in school history
3,000 Meters
1. Tara Silverman (10:19.87) – school record
Pole Vault
3. Hayden Adams (3.20m) – second in school history
MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State men’s volleyball team completed a successful weekend at Worthen Arena, defeating NJIT in four sets (25-13, 21-25, 25-12, 25-15) Saturday evening.
The Cardinals (3-0, 0-0 MIVA) limited the Highlanders (0-4, 0-0 EIVA) to a 0.80 hitting clip while averaging .391 themselves, along with a team block total of 15.5 compared to NJIT’s 3. The evening saw just one lead change, three points into the fourth set, as NJIT recorded an attack error at the end of a Patrick Rogers serve.
Rogers led the way as he matched his kill total from the evening prior, tallying 16 while hitting .522, along with six digs, two assists and a team-leading three aces. Ryan Louis was credited with 11 kills on a .318 clip, two aces, four digs and a career-high seven block assists. Wil Basilio earned nine kills, three digs and four block assists.
Ball State’s defense halted the Highlanders at the net, aided by Jacob Surette who recorded a career-best nine block assists, Louis’ seven and Braydon Savitski-Lynde’s five. Savitski-Lynde also completed five kills while hitting .522. Freshman libero Adir Ben Shloosh led the men with eight digs.
Lucas Machado’s hustle was on full display throughout the match, dishing out 37 assists with three kills.
The Cardinals led by as much as 14 in the opening set, highlighted by an 8-0 run which brought them to set-point. After three-straight points by the Highlanders, Rogers punched a kill to finish it, capping off a set that saw Ball State hit an efficient .688 clip.
Set two was a different story, as the score tied seven times until NJIT’s late momentum pushed them just enough to claim the set.
The men’s squad was unfazed, easily taking sets three and four. Rogers swatted nine kills between the two sets, and claimed two of his three aces in set four, with one of those bringing the Cardinals to match point. Surette’s four block assists were also instrumental, including back-to-back blocks assists by him and Basilio.
In his first career appearance with the Cardinals, sophomore Jason Harris put the exclamation point on the weekend with the final kill of the match, finishing with two.
The Ball State men’s volleyball program ride this momentum into next week when it travels to Phoenix, Ariz. for the First Point Collegiate Challenge Tournament at the Phoenix Convention Center. The men square off against No. 1 UCLA Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. ET, followed by No. 9 Stanford Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. ET.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team defeated Harvard 3-1 Saturday night to close out the final round of the 61st ASICS Invitational. The Gauchos open the 2026 season undefeated, having also beaten Kentucky State and Maryville earlier in the tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Harvard opened the gate with a first-set win, taking it 25-22. The Gauchos hit just 0.074 in the first and were unable to collapse Harvard’s early lead.
The Gauchos finally clicked during the second, bringing it home 25-18. Santa Barbara and Harvard stayed even through the second, with neither team managing to gain more than a three-point lead until the set’s finale. At 19-18, Santa Barbara went on a six-point scoring run that brought them directly to victory.
Santa Barbara shone in the third, capturing a 25-14 success for their cleanest win of the match. The Gauchos made off with a 7-2 head start and stayed at least three points ahead at all times. Senior Owen Loncar sealed the set with a service ace.
Finally, the Gauchos closed out the match by winning the fourth and final set 25-19. They held a slight initial lead before springing multiple points ahead of the Crimson.
Santa Barbara revived their hitting percentage after the grim first set, hitting 57% in the remaining three. As a team, they dug 42 digs and made ten aces.
George Bruening put on a hitting masterclass, annihilating 26 kills and hitting .455. He tied his career record in kills and made ten in the fourth set alone. Ben Pearson delivered the match’s second highest kill count with nine, while Riggs Guy lasered eight. Guy also placed a career-best six assists.
Cole Schobel achieved all over the court, popping 42 assists, five kills, and a block. He also led the match in service aces with four, hit .714, and tied Jason Walmer for the match-high dig count at nine. Joe Wallace followed with seven digs and freshman Dylan Pilkvist made a team leading 5 block assists
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will continue home play for their next match, hosting The Master’s University on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome.
UC San Diego men’s volleyball (1-0, 0-0 Big West) kicked off its 2026 campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Jessup (0-1, 0-0 MPSF) on Tuesday, Jan. 6, at LionTree Arena.
The key to the Tritons’ victory was the offensive firepower of junior outside hitter Josh Ewert, who racked up a game-high 17 kills, including the final point in two of the four sets. Junior outside hitter Leo Pravednikov added 15 kills of his own.
The first set showcased opening-game jitters with both sides committing a multitude of attacking errors. Ewert came to play from the first serve, racking up five kills in the opening set alone. However, Jessup had its own go-to guy — senior middle blocker Clement Osahon Jr. caused major issues for the Tritons early on. By the end of the set, UCSD shook off its early errors and created some separation. Fittingly, Ewert scored the set point, a kill that pushed his team over the line to clinch the first set with a score of 25-20.
The second set started sloppily, but a vicious kill from Triton junior middle blocker Leo Wiemelt ignited a spark. A sneaky dump set from senior setter John Luers extended the Tritons’ lead to six. Yet, UCSD was plagued by service errors following strong kills, allowing Jessup to remain on the Tritons’ heels.
“[The offense] is so potent at times, and then, at times, we struggled with the blockers and getting the ball in the court consistently,” head coach Brad Rostratter said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “So, our strengths can be our weaknesses.”
Ewert led the Tritons to set point after a crafty tool of the Warriors’ block. Despite a final 3-point push from Jessup, a powerful kill from senior middle blocker Peter Selcho drove UCSD over the line 25-22.
Jessup refused to go quietly in the third. After a couple of early kills from Ewert, the Warriors found their momentum. UCSD responded with a block from Wiemelt and an emphatic kill and ace from junior outside hitter Sebastiano Sani. However, a solo 3-0 run from Jessup’s senior opposite hitter Carter Depue tied the game at 18. Late Triton errors ultimately allowed Jessup to build its lead and eventually take the set 25-22.
“Their middles did a really good job of committing, slowing down our middles, and touching and defending the middle of the court,” Rostratter said. “It’s something they did really, really well. And we struggled; it took a little bit of adjusting to their higher quick set.”
The Tritons decisively regained control in the fourth set, and Ewert set the tone with back-to-back service aces. UCSD went on an 8-2 run, which included a vicious kill from Selcho and another ace from Ewert. For the first time in the match, the Tritons had a comfortable lead at 18-11. Ewert sent one last back-row kill past the unresponsive Warriors to take the fourth set 25-20 for UCSD.
The Tritons stayed hot with a 3-1 home victory against Daemen on Friday, Jan. 9. UCSD will finish off its three-game homestand against Rockhurst on Sunday, Jan. 11, before heading to Utah to face BYU in a two-game road trip from Jan. 16-17.
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne men’s volleyball team collected their first win of the season on Sunday night (Jan. 11), topping NJIT in the Mastodons’ second five set match of the season (25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-12).
Owen Banner and Carlo Huisden led the ‘Dons offensively in the match, combining for 43 of the ‘Dons 67 kills. Banner finished with 21 kills, two aces, nine digs and three total blocks. Huisden tallied 22 kills on a .472 hitting percentage, along with seven digs.
Both teams battled early in the first set, until NJIT took the lead with a 5-1 run. Purdue Fort Wayne rallied back midway through the set with their own 6-1 run to claim a 16-13 lead. The Mastodons finished the set on a .481 hitting percentage to take the frame 25-20.
The Highlanders jumped out to an early second set lead, using a 6-2 run. NJIT added onto their lead with the help of another 6-1 run, sitting on top of a 16-9 score. Despite the ‘Dons boasting another high hitting percentage (.429), the Highlanders maintained the lead and finished out the set at 25-18.
Purdue Fort Wayne rallied to begin the third set, shooting out on a 7-0 run. Banner earned nine of his kills and the Mastodons defense rejected four attacks during the frame. The ‘Dons took a 2-1 set lead after a 25-22 conclusion.
The fourth set was highly contested, neither side owned larger than a three point lead. Both teams were held to under .100 hitting percentage. NJIT forced a fifth set after taking the fourth 25-23.
Purdue Fort Wayne dropped the first two points of the final frame, but bounced back with a 6-1 run. NJIT closed the gap to 9-11 after a 3-0 run of their own. The Mastodons managed to hold on to their lead and close out the contest at 15-12.
Hunter Hopkins finished with a near double-double of 53 assists and nine digs. Casey Lyons tied his career-high with eight block assists. Andrew Mayer dug out 11 attacks in the contest.
Purdue Fort Wayne moves to 1-1. NJIT falls to 0-5. The Mastodons will take on the Under Armour Challenge, hosted by Lindenwood, next weekend. The ‘Dons will face off against Menlo on Friday (Jan. 16) and No. 11 CSUN on Saturday (Jan. 17).
