Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team picked up its first win of the 2022 season Tuesday afternoon at Rob Gym, hitting at a .484 clip and serving up 12 aces in a sweep of Saint Xavier, 25-20, 25-18, 25-17.
ON THE STAT SHEET
- The 12 aces were the most for UCSB (1-2) in just over seven years and tied for No. 9 all-time in program history. Four Gauchos had multiple aces, led by outside hitters Ryan Wilcox and Max Cajuste with three apiece.
- Santa Barbara's .484 clip was over 15 percentage points more than its previous season-best and the highest in 14 outings. It was thanks in large part to perfect hitting days from middle blocker Brandon Hicks (6-6), setter Patrick Paragas (3-3) and outside hitter Sam Collins (3-3). Paragas also had a match-high 31 assists and added two aces.
- Wilcox led the offense for the first time in 2022 with seven kills. Junior opposite Haotian Xia went 6-for-10 (.500) with two aces.
- Making his season debut, sophomore middle blocker Donovan Todorov had an efficient 5-for-8 (.625) hitting day while pacing the Gauchos with two blocks.
- Freshman opposite Geste Bianchi improved on Saturday's 3-kill performance with four kills (.800) to go along with three digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Set (25-20 UCSB)
- Following a 10-10 deadlock, the Gauchos embarked on the first run of the day to take a 15-11 lead.
- SXU (1-2) pulled within a point a few times, but the Gauchos closed the set strong. Collins sealed the 1-0 advantage with an ace just inside the line behind the Cougar defense.
2nd Set (25-18 UCSB)
- A 4-0 UCSB run saw the Gauchos double Xavier in points early on 10-5.
- UCSB found a way to win most of the longer rallies. A strong kill from Bianchi and a big block by Wilcox and Todorov capped a 3-0 spurt to put the home side up 23-16.
- For the second straight set, a Gaucho ace ended things, this time coming from Paragas who fired it right off a back line defender.
3rd Set (25-17 UCSB)
- The Gauchos enjoyed their best start to a game, leading 6-2 after back-to-back aces by Wilcox.
- A Wilcox kill was followed by his third ace of the set to cap a 5-2 run that put UCSB up 17-8. The Gauchos led by as many as 10 points before icing the match on a powerful downward swing by Bianchi that cut right through the defense.
NEXT UP
UCSB heads on the road for the first time in 10 days to face No. 13 Pepperdine. The match is set for a 7:00 p.m. start on Friday, Jan. 21 at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif.
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