Box Score Santa Barbara, Calif. – UCSB maintained
its spotless record against Harvard by sweeping the Crimson in
three straight sets. This is the fourth straight win for the
Gauchos and they are undefeated since they returned home last
week.
Game scores for the night went 25-16, 25-15, 25-22. The win
boosts the Gauchos to a 11-12 overall, 8-10 MPSF record. Harvard
falls to a 12-5 overall record.
The Gauchos moved to the Thunderdome for the home game and came
out on fire. UCSB rocketed off to a 10-3 start and kept the
intensity throughout the set. Evan Licht
slammed a kill to end the first set by a nine-point margin. Licht
had a powerful first set with seven kills and three blocks.
In the second set, the Gauchos capitalized on the Crimson's
poor hitting percentage. Harvard was only able to convert eight
kills the entire set. UCSB went off on another early lead at 9-4.
Dylan
Davis hammered a kill to spark a huge run after a Crimson
timeout. The Gauchos dominated the second set, ultimately winning
by ten.
Nonetheless, Harvard would not give up and kept the third game
tight. There were 12 tie scores and seven lead changes. Near the
end, UCSB won three straight points to give them a 23-19 advantage.
Even though the Crimson tried to hang on, Austin
Kingi's kill ended the night.
For the Gauchos, Licht led the offense with nine kills. Miles
Evans had a big night, picking up seven kills. Both Jonah Seif
and Chad Kingi
scooped up ten digs apiece. Jake
Staahl, Davis, and Licht each ended the match with four
blocks.
Harvard has proven that they are a strong team this season.
Opposite Nick Madden led the team with eight kills. DJ White picked
up six kills and ten digs. Additionally, Caleb Zimmick matched
White with six kills.
Recently, Harvard overtook Pen State, one of the top teams in
the country, showing that they are force to be reckoned with. The
Gauchos knew that they had to be prepared to take on the Crimson.
Head coach Rick McLaughlin commented, "I thought are guys did a
real good job at being ready and being focused." UCSB established
that it was ready for Harvard early on in the night.
Still, UCSB is in pursuit of a playoff spot. Its four game
winning streak shows that they are strong team. The Gauchos have
one more home game before they go back to the road.
UCSB has a week off before they take on Concordia at home. The
game on March 26 will be at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome. The
Gauchos have built up an incredible momentum that will hopefully
sustain the week break.
