The Schedule
No. 13 UC San Diego
Wednesday, April 14 at 5:00 PM at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif.
Thursday, April 15 at 5:00 PM at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla, Calif. (Non-Conference)
Saturday, April 17 at 4:00 PM at Robertson Gym in Santa Barbara, Calif
The Series
This will be meetings three, four, and five between the Gauchos and Tritons this year as UCSB topped UCSD in back-to-back matches in early March. UC Santa Barbara took match one 3-1 before sweeping UC San Diego the next day 3-0. The Tritons come into the week with a 3-9 record having lost its last two to No. 6 Long Beach State.
Gauchos on the Air
The first two matches down in La Jolla, Calif. will be aired live on ESPN3 with Saturday's match being aired on Big West TV. Additionally, live stats will be available on UCSBGauchos.com.
Current AVCA Rankings
1 Hawaii (15)
2 BYU (1)
3 UC Santa Barbara
4 Lewis
5 Pepperdine
6 UCLA
7 Long Beach State
8 Penn State
9 Grand Canyon
10 Loyola-Chicago
11 NJIT
12 McKendree
13 UC San Diego
14 George Mason
15 Ball State
( ) – First place votes
Bringing the Broom
UCSB has collected six sweeps already this year against three different opponents. The Gauchos are coming off of back-to-back sweeps over then No. 14 UC Irvine.
Shut'em Down!
Much of UCSB's success so far this season can be attributed to its defense. The Gauchos lead the conference in both total digs (503) and digs p/set (10.48) while also ranking second in total blocks (99) and third in blocks p/set (2.06).
DeWeese Demolishing
Senior outside hitter Randy DeWeese picked up right where he left off in the shortened 2020 season as he currently ranks second the Big West with 202 total kills and a 4.21 p/set average. His 4.92 points p/set average also ranks second.
He is the sole player in the conference that has posted three 20+ kill matches this season.
On a Platter
Senior setter Casey McGarry is once again making his presence felt throughout the conference as one of the best setters in the Big West on both sides of the ball. He currently leads the conference with 538 total assists and 112 digs. His 11.21 digs p/set mark leads the country.
Sanders Swings
Senior middle blocker Keenan Sanders is one of the most potent attackers in the country as he currently ranks fourth in the nation with a .478 hitting percentage. That mark is good for second in the Big West Conference.
DeWeese Named Off the Block National Opposite of the Week
Senior Opposite Randy DeWeese earned his second national nod from Off the Block this season after a strong showing against CSUN, the publication announced on March 29.
DeWeese posted a match-high 18 kills on a potent 18-1-26 line for a hitting percentage of .654 in the match one sweep. He followed that up the next night with his third 20-kill match of the season on a 20-4-34 line for a .471 mark. He added 11 digs and six blocks over the two matches as well as the Gauchos won six straight set against the Matadors.
Wilcox Named Big West Defensive Player of the Week
After a great series against No. 10 Long Beach State, Ryan Wilcox was given his first career Big West Defensive Player of the Week award. The sophomore outside hitter led the Gauchos in digs over its two matches with the Beach.
Wilcox was receiving serves and keeping plays alive all weekend, scooping up 32 total digs over the two matches for a 4.0 digs per set average. He set a career-high in the team's four-set win over the Beach with 18 digs to go along with a pair of block assists, and followed that up with 14 more the next night.
He also contributed offensively with 10 kills on .368 hitting in the first match with another eight kills to finish the weekend.
Wilcox becomes the second Gaucho to earn the honor this year after seeing Keenan Sanders take it opening weekend, and is the third different Gaucho to receive a weekly award this season.
DeWeese Named Sports Imports/AVCA DI-II Player of the Week
After being named Big West Player of the Week for third time in his career after week one of the season, Randy DeWeese of No. 3 UCSB followed by being named Sports Import/AVCA Division I-II Men's Player of the Week for the first time, the association announced Tuesday.
DeWeese becomes the first Gaucho since Corey Chavers in January of 2019 to earn the award, with this being the 12th time that the program has received it.
DeWeese and Sanders Collect Big West and Off the Block Honors
After going a perfect 4-0 in week one of the new season, then No. 4 UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball followed by winning a pair of weekly honors. Randy DeWeese was named Big West Player of the Week for the third time in his career and Keenan Sanders was selected as the Defensive Player of the Week for the first time.
DeWeese was also named Opposite of the Week by Off the Block, and Sanders was named Middle Attacker of the Week.
DeWeese had a dominant start to the new season picking up 59 total kills for a team-best 4.21 kills per set average. He swung an efficient .361 hitting percentage to go along with six aces, nine blocks, and 26 digs.
The senior opposite erupted for 19 kills in the season opener with UCSD and set an early season-high Sunday morning against UCI with 21 kills on .576 hitting to go along with a pair of aces and blocks, and seven digs. He showed up in big moments and constantly gave the Gauchos the momentum they needed to close out sets.
Sanders led the team with 13 total blocks and was incredibly efficient posting a .644 hitting percentage and three errorless matches. He was a cheat code in the season opener with a line of 16-0-20 (.800) and five total blocks. He followed that up the very next night going 12-0-17 with an ace and three more blocks.
AVCA Preseason Poll
The UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team was ranked third in the American Volleyball Coaches Association' preseason poll for the 2021 season.
The Gauchos had the second-highest ranking among Big West Conference teams, which occupy five of the spots in the top seven. UCSB is one rank below Hawai'i but above Long Beach State (4th), UC Irvine (6th), and UC San Diego (T-7th).
Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 men's volleyball season in March, UCSB was off to a 14-2 start, claiming wins at Stanford, UCLA, Ohio State, and USC, with its only losses coming against second-ranked BYU in Provo, Utah. At the time of the cancellation, the Gauchos were on an eight-game winning streak.
Four Gauchos in senior opposite hitter Randy DeWeese, senior setter Casey McGarry, senior middle blocker Keenan Sanders, and senior outside hitter Roy McFarland earned selection to both the All-Big West teams and to the AVCA All-America lists at the conclusion of last season. Head coach Rick McLaughlin was selected as the Big West Coach of the Year and the AVCA National Coach of the Year.
Big West Preseason Poll
For the second straight season the UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team has been picked to finish second in the Big West Conference preseason coaches poll.
Trio of Gauchos Named Preseason All-Americans
Prior to the start of the season, UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team landed three players on Off the Block's preseason All-America list.
Setter Casey McGarry was named a First Team All-American, while opposite Randy DeWeese and middle blocker Keenan Sanders earned spots on the Second Team.
In 2020, McGarry became the first Big West player to lead the conference in both assists per set and digs per set. In just 16 matches the Manhattan Beach, Calif. native matched his season-high in total assists from 2019 (593) and set new personal marks in digs, blocks, points, and kills. He notched 30+ assists in all but one match despite 10 of the team's contests coming in three-set sweeps and found a season high 53 assists in a five-set loss to BYU. His career-high in digs came in the team's reverse sweep of No. 9 Penn State, in which he scooped up 20.
DeWeese earned a nod to the Second Team following a season in which the senior transitioned from the setter position to playing opposite. His 3.70 kills per set mark ranked 16th in the country, landing 207 kills in total. In addition, he found new career-highs in every category but assists.
The Sacramento, Calif. native truly found his rhythm late in the non-conference slate. In the team's last five matches, DeWeese tallied 76 kills for an average of 4.47 kills per set, broke his career-high in kills twice, set a new career-high in digs, and earned back-to-back Big West Player of the Week Awards.
Sanders was one of the Gauchos' most efficient players in 2020. The middle blocker finished atop the Big West Conference and second in the country in hitting percentage posting a career-high .521 attack line with 113 kills. It took just 188 swings to accomplish that feat thanks to his career-low 15 errors, which was also best in the nation. He also had an excellent campaign defensively, ending the season with a 1.05 blocks per set mark.
The trio, who were also selected as All-Big West First Teamers and AVCA All-Americans following the 2020 season, were part of a class of 11 Big West players named preseason All-Americans.
