Box Score Santa Barbara, Calif. - No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (5-4, 1-4 MPSF) fought hard but ultimately took a loss against the fifth-ranked Pepperdine Waves (9-1, 5-1) this Friday night at Rob Gym. Jacob Delson and Weston Nielsen showed strong performances, picking up 10 and 15 kills respectively.
The first game found both teams chasing after each point, with the Gauchos claiming the win at 25-22. Nielsen and Kevin Donohue picked up four and three kills respectively, while Matt Tarantino from Pepperdine put up two block assists.
The Waves brought the match to a tie in the second game as 25-18. Nielsen recorded five kills, one of them preceding stellar digs by both Nielsen and Donohue. Parker Kalmbach, for the Waves, led his team with an impressive eight kills.
The Gauchos succumbed to the Pepperdine offense in the third game at 18-25, bringing the match to 1-2. Kalmbach led his team once again with another five kills, as Scott Rhein and Josh Taylor also recorded three putdowns each.
The fourth set was a lively game, but the Gauchos ultimately couldn't end up with the win, ending at 19-25. Pepperdine took an early lead, with Kalmbach scoring six kills. Donohue also kept the game competitive with six kills of his own, with one specifically knocking a Waves defender to the ground.
UCSB will jump right back into action tomorrow night, taking on Stanford at 7:00 p.m. at Rob Gym.
