The UCSB women’s volleyball team has a lot to be thankful for this weekend, after coming off a victory against Loyola Marymount last night.

Santa Barbara (19-8 overall, 12-2 in the Big West) defeated LMU (19-10 overall, 7-7 West Coast Conference) 30-24, 16-30, 30-26 and 30-26.

The win came on the heels of the announcement of the Big West All-Conference teams Tuesday. Six Gauchos were honored by the conference.

“It’s great to have three First Team winners,” Head Coach Kathy Gregory said. “I wish we could have gotten all of our starters on [the list], but the awards are a reflection of how our players did this year.”

Junior outside hitter Janine Sandell was named the Big West Player of the Year, marking the third Gaucho since 1999 to earn such an honor. Senior middle blocker Megan Blackshire and sophomore outside hitter Brett Quirarte both joined Sandell on the First Team squad.

Juniors libero Emily Hendrickson and middle blocker Olivia Waldowski were named on the honorable mention team. The sixth Gaucho to make the list was freshman outside hitter Lauren McLaughlin, who was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team.

“I couldn’t believe that I was named player of the year,” Sandell said. “It’s exciting and I definitely couldn’t have done it without my teammates. Everyone deserved the awards they won.”

UCSB proved it was worthy of its honors against LMU, when Sandell recorded yet another double-double, with 26 kills and 12 digs. Blackshire finished second with 13 kills, while Waldowski was right behind with 12 kills and a team-high .435 on the night.

The Lions put up impressive numbers of their own, hitting .385 in the second set, while holding UCSB to just 16 points.

“While our first game was probably the best of the year, our passing completely broke down in the second set,” Gregory said. “Tonight was a tough performance for both of us, and LMU is a good team.”

It was all about Sandell in the final six points of the fourth set. UCSB started the game down 5-1, but thanks to 13 Sandell and Waldowski kills in the set, the Gauchos took the 3-1 victory.

“It was better that we were a little more spread-out today,” Sandell said. “We’re just trying to start playing better now and we want to do well in NCAA [playoffs].”

UCSB will head down to Long Beach State’s Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend to face Florida A&M and South Dakota State. On Sunday, the NCAA Tournament bracket will be announced. Santa Barbara is only one of four schools to participate in the playoffs every year since the tournament’s conception in 1981.