Lindsey Ruddins wrote her name into another record book on Monday, winning the vote for the 12th Big West Conference Player of the Week award of her UCSB volleyball career.
Teammate Tallulah Froley received the Freshman of the Week Award.
Ruddins, who earned four weekly awards as a sophomore, five as a junior, and three so far as a senior, surpassed the previous record of 11 held by Cal Poly’s Kylie Atherstone. It was Froley’s third Freshman of the Week selection.
Ruddins hit .538 for the week in road sweeps at UC Davis and UC Riverside.
“Lindsey had a career day coming back from an injury, getting 18 kills and hitting over .500 at Davis,” assistant coach Chad Gatzlaff said during Monday’s Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table press luncheon. “We ended up hitting .400, which is an awesome offensive match for us.
“And we traveled down to Riverside, sweeping them as well, with Lindsey leading the way with 20 kills and hitting over .500 again.”
UCSB, 18-2 overall and 8-1 in the Big West Conference, will play host to Long Beach State tonight at 7 p.m. before heading to Hawaii for a Friday match.
WESTMONT TOUGHENS UP
Westmont College (20-5, 11-3 GSAC) faces a big road trip to William Jessup and Menlo College this after moving into a tie for first place with wins over San Diego Christian and Vanguard. The Warriors share the top spot with Hope International (17-7, 11-3) with four matches remaining.
“We had a couple hiccups couple weeks ago with some losses against The Masters and Hope International, but we regrouped last week,” coach Ruth McGolpin said. “I told the girls, ‘I’m going to work you to death, basically,’ and it worked … They responded.”
“We need to win out in our four games. If we do, we have the possibility of hosting our tournament championship.”
VAQUEROS BREAK EVEN
SBCC finished the first round of Western State Conference North play with a 3-3 record (7-11 overall).
“We are basically winning the games we should win, and we haven’t been quite able to crack through and beat some of those more challenging teams that sit at the top of our conference,” coach Kat Niksto said. “We get a chance at everyone again.”
SBCC visits Ventura on Wednesday. The Vaqueros set a state record when they played the Pirates on Oct. 4, winning the second set, 45-43. Ventura won the other three sets, however.
MEN’S SOCCER
BIG WEST HONORS ROACH
UCSB goalkeeper Ben Roach, a sophomore from Santa Barbara High School, has been selected by the Big West Conference as its Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.
Roach made a season-high nine saves in a 1-1 draw at UC Davis last Wednesday and recorded a four-save shutout at CSUN on Saturday night in another tied match, 0-0. His efforts helped the Gauchos stay unbeaten on the road and gain two crucial points to keep their hopes alive for a Big West regular season championship.
“This leads us to a must-win game this Saturday against Cal Poly,” assistant coach David Elias said.
WESTMONT LOOKING TO HOST
Westmont (11-1-1, 5-0-1 GSAC), ranked No. 4 in the NAIA, has a lot at stake when it completes its regular season this week with home matches against Ottawa, Ariz. on Thursday and Arizona Christian on Senior Day Saturday.
“Not only do we have a chance for the conference championship but if we win those we get a berth automatically into the national tournament,” Westmont sports information director Ron Smith said. “Our conference plays host to the NAIA Tournament in Irvine the first week of December, so our champion gets a berth and a first-round bye.”
WOMEN’S SOCCER
MURISON HONORED
UCSB senior Shaelan Murison was selected as the Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Murison scored four goals and added an assist as the Gauchos picked up four points with a tie at Cal State Fullerton and a win at Hawai’i.
“She has such a nose for the goal and her scoring has been a huge part of our success,” coach Paul Stumpf said.
Murison has scored 16 goals — tied for fourth-most in the country — and recorded five assists this season to lead the conference with 37 points.
UCSB will play host to UC Riverside on Friday at 7 p.m. and UC Irvine on Sunday at 2 p.m. for its Senior Day.
WESTMONT RANKED NO. 9
Westmont College’s women are locked in a four-way tie for first place as the GSAC season enters its final two weeks.
“Winning the conference would get us a first-round bye in the conference tournament and then the ability to host the semifinals,” assistant coach Lauren Matthias pointed out.
MEN’S WATER POLO
GAUCHOS EXPECTING SELLOUT
UCSB’s No. 4 men’s water polo team (17-5, 1-1 Golden Coast Conference), fresh off beating Cal twice for the first time since 1981, is expecting a sellout crowd when it plays UC Irvine in its Senior Day game on Saturday at noon.
“We’ve had sellout crowds the last few games, and I expect the same, so get your tickets early,” coach Wolf Wigo said. “Right now we’re in a good position to get an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships, which is unprecedented for UCSB.”
JC FOOTBALL
ROCKY ROAD FOR VAQUEROS
SBCC got off to a bad start on Saturday’s road trip to Los Angeles Harbor, which ended with a 35-10 loss.
“From the time we left, which was an hour and a half late because of the bus schedules, it was just a bad day,” coach Craig Moropoulos said. “We didn’t play well on offense, defense or special teams.”
He likes the contributions from several local players, bringing two of them — lineman Colton Takis from Santa Barbara High and wide receiver Cyrus Wallace from Dos Pueblos — to Harry’s Plaza Café for Monday’s Round Table luncheon.
“When I played here, we got great contributions from the local schools — all five of them,” Moropoulos said.
The Vaqueros play host to county rival Hancock on Saturday at 1 p.m.
email: mpatton@newspress.com
