The UCSB women’s volleyball team will play UC Riverside and UC Davis this weekend at the Thunderdome coming off of last weekend’s conference opening victory.

The Gauchos advanced their record to 6-6 overall and 1-0 Big West with their latest comeback win versus Cal Poly and currently hold an undefeated 3-0 record at home. They now head into an extended home stand this weekend with back-to-back conference games against the Highlanders and Aggies, who are 0-5 and 2-4 on the road, respectively.

Riverside currently holds a record of 2-11 overall and a 0-1 Big West record, and Davis stands with a 5-9 overall and 0-1 Big West record.

“Last weekend was a really good win for us,” sophomore outside hitter Ali Spindt said. “We are preparing this week for Davis and we’re working really hard.”

Last week, junior opposites Britton Taylor and Jaylen Villanueva led the Gaucho’s powerful offense. Taylor, who is averaging a team high 2.9 kills per set, hit a .333 average. Villanueva, who averages 2.79 kills per set, had 15 kills in her last outing against Cal Poly.

“We are working on our consistency and playing at a high level all the time instead of going up and down,” Spindt said.

Other Gaucho leaders includes Spindt, playing in the libero position, and sophomore middle blocker Phoebe Grunt. Spindt is averaging 4.27 digs per set this season, putting her at third best in the league, while Grunt also tops the league charts with a .341 hitting percentage.

For the Aggies, junior outside hitter/middle blocker Kaylin Squyres lands third in the conference for kills per set with her average of 3.73. She has hit for 194 kills this season, which puts her at fifth in the conference for overall kills.

Another Aggie to watch is senior libero Megan Lancaster, who is currently ranked fourth in the Big West for both overall digs with 217 and digs per set with an average of 4.17.

Freshman Highlander and outside hitter Amanda Press also lands herself among league leaders in assists per set at seventh, averaging 7.21 this season.

The Gauchos will face Riverside at 7:00 p.m. tomorrow at the Thunderdome and will follow with Davis on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

This story is an online exclusive and did not appear in the print edition of the Daily Nexus.