Feb. 27, 2010

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The No. 9 UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team was crowned 2010 Volleyball Hall of Fame Morgan Classic champions after sweeping Ohio State Saturday night at Blake Arena. Set scores were 34-32, 32-30, and 30-17 in favor of UCSB.

Jeff Menzel hit a season-high .452 on the night, leading the team with 20 kills and three aces. Three players hit .500 or better for UCSB, with Scott Slaughter leading the way with a .562 clip (11-2-16). Cullen Irons was second on the team in kills (15) and hitting percentage (.517). Jake Rosener hit .500 and scooped eight digs.

UCSB improves to 9-8 on the year, increasing their winning percentage to above .500 for the first time this season.

The Buckeyes managed just a .291 team hitting percentage on the night, as the Gauchos front line of Slaughter and Sam Moisenco helped UCSB out-block Ohio State 11 to 8. Ohio State's Shawn Sangrey had 21 kills and five digs. John Klanac hit .344 (14-3-32) with three digs and two blocks.

In an opening set that featured twelve ties and five lead changes, the Gauchos found themselves trailing, 29-30. The teams traded points on kills from Menzel and Sangrey until the Gauchos faced a 31-32 deficit. Menzel cannoned successive kills to give the Gauchos a one-point lead before Irons finished off the set with his final attack to give UCSB the 34-32 victory.

With UCSB trailing 28-29 in the second frame, an Irons kills followed by a Sangrey error gave the Gauchos a 30-29 lead. Irons could not find the court on his next serve, but Slaughter responded on the next play with a kill. Another error by Sangrey would give the second set to the Gauchos, 32-30.

UCSB hit a blistering .679 in the final set, connecting on 19 of 28 total attempts with no errors. Ohio State managed only to hit only .139 as a team in the final stanza.

The Gauchos did not drop a set in the Hall of Fame Classic, as they swept Springfield College on Friday night in the Opening Round, 39-37, 30-25, and 30-28. On February 25, UCSB also swept Harvard in a non-conference tilt, 30-26, 30-22, and 30-21.

The Gauchos' next home match is Wednesday, March 3 against UC Irvine at Rob Gym. Match-time is set for 7 p.m.

This season, fans have several options to purchase men's volleyball tickets. Online sales are through Ticket Return. Just go to UCSB gauchos.com, roll over "Tickets", and then click on "Buy Now Print From Home." Then click on the Men's Volleyball section. Additionally, tickets are available by calling the Ticket Office at 805.893.UCSB or by visiting the Ticket Office, located in the Intercollegiate Athletics building on campus. Of course, you can also buy tickets at the Rob Gym entrance beginning one our prior to the start of the match. Individual match ticket prices are $7 for adults, $5 for seniors, and $3 for youths. UCSB students are free.

UCSB men's volleyball matches can be followed live online for no charge with Gametracker. Log on to UCSBgauchos.com, go to the men's volleyball schedule, and click on the Gametracker link for the match you're interested in. You can follow each point and see player statistics and bios.