SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Seniors Kelly Oliver (San Diego, Calif./La Jolla) and Lindsey Lee (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) each posted double-doubles while sophomore Katie Mann (Del Mar, Calif./Torrey Pines) notched a career-high in kills, but it was not enough as the Fairfield University volleyball team fell to UC Santa Barbara, 3-1 (31-29, 24-30, 17-30, 14-30) at the Aztec Invitational. The Gauchos, who have appeared in 26-straight NCAA Tournaments, improve to 2-1 while the Stags fall to 0-3 on the season.

Oliver recorded a career-high 18 kills, including seven in the first game, along with 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.  Lee also posted her first double-double of the year with 11 kills and 17 digs.

Mann, who was named to the All-Tournament Team, chipped in with 17 kills and six digs.

The two teams battled in game one with 21 ties and 13 lead changes. With the score knotted 14-14, senior Lauren Campbell (San Diego, Calif./Mount Carmel) came up with a big kill to put the Stags ahead. Lee followed with a kill of her own to make the score 16-14 and prompted a Gauchos timeout. Out of the break, Santa Barbara tied the score, 16-16, but Campbell again put Fairfield on top with a kill. The two teams continued to exchange points down the stretch. With the game tied 23-23, the Gauchos gained a two point lead after consecutive attack errors by the Stags. Santa Barbara seemed to have the game in hand with a 29-25 lead, but a kill by Karlie Urbaniak (Canton, Minn./Mabel-Canton) sparked a 6-0 game-winning rally for the Stags. After two attack errors by the Gauchos, Lee tied the game 29-29 with a kill. Santa Barbara's attack was rattled as it committed two more attack errors to give Fairfield a 31-29 win.

The Gauchos controlled in game two opening up a 16-9 lead. The Stags were able to cut the gap to 25-21 on a kill by Oliver but Santa Barbara was able to hang on for the 30-24 victory. The Gauchos opened the third frame by taking the first five points before Mann stopped the run with a kill. Santa Barbara continued to tack points on the board, going up by as much as 14 points before taking the 30-17 win. In the fourth game, Santa Barbara took another early lead and never looked back sealing the match with a 30-14 victory.

Several other Stags were in double figures on the night. Junior Brandi Higa (Honolulu, Hawaii/Hawaii Baptist Academy) notched 17 digs while senior Jazmin Pa'akaula (Hilo, Hawaii/St. Joseph) added 11 digs. Sophomore Barbie Thistle (Bakersfield, Calif./Bakersfield) notched 51 assists along with six digs.

For the Gauchos, Dana Vargas and Lauren McLaughlin each posted double-doubles. Vargas finished with 51 assists and 15 digs while McLaughlin tallied 27 kills and 11 digs.

As a team, the Gauchos hit .308 on the night while the Stags hit just .098. A considerable taller Santa Barbara squad also out-blocked the Fairfield, 21-1. Kasey Kipp led the way with a match-high 10 total blocks.

Fairfield will continue its West Coast swing on August 28 when the Stags take on No. 15 University of San Diego at 5p.m. (PST).