SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 3 UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team got back to its winning ways Saturday afternoon at Rob Gym, downing No. 10 Long Beach State in four sets, 25-21, 25-15, 25-27, 25-20. This snaps a nine-match losing streak with the reigning national champions.

 

Notching their first win in conference play, the Gauchos improve to a 5-3 overall mark and 1-2 in the Big West. The Beach, playing in its season opener, falls to 0-1 in both columns.

 

Santa Barbara enjoyed a .301 to .128 advantage in hitting, its second-highest margin so far this year. Senior outside hitter led all players with a season-best 15 kills, reaching that mark for the second time in four outings. Opposite Randy DeWeese and outside hitter Ryan Wilcox added 12 and 10 kills, respectively.

 

The Gauchos also set a season-high with 13 blocks. Making his second straight appearance, freshman middle blocker was impressive once again with his time on the floor, matching senior Keenan Sanders with a match-high five blocks.

 

UCSB never trailed in the opening set, leading by as many as six points. The Gauchos ended the game on a 4-2 run, including a clinching kill from Sanders. As a team, UCSB hit at a .387 clip, its highest of any set on the day.

 

Set two saw the Gauchos took a 25-15 win, tied for their largest margin of victory in any set this season. They held the Beach to just a -.231 hitting percentage and used a 9-2 lead out of the gates to cruise the rest of the way.

 

In position for its third sweep of the year, UCSB was unable to put things away in the third set, despite having three match point opportunities as Long Beach rallied late for a 26-24 win. 

 

However, set four would go the Gauchos way, as they jumped out to a 14-8 lead and never trailed for the third time on the day. After LBSU cut the lead to as little as two, a 5-0 Gaucho run capped by a Wilcox ace saw the home side pull away to clinch the match.

 

Wilcox led all players with a career-high 18 digs. Senior setter Casey McGarry finished with a season-high four blocks to go along with a match-best 45 assists, his second-highest total of his senior year.

 

Tomorrow, both teams will travel down to Long Beach for a 4:00 p.m. rematch at Walter Pyramid.