Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team earned its most impressive win so far in 2022 on Friday night, defeating No. 4 Pepperdine on the road in a five-set thriller and handing the Waves their first loss of the season, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-7.
ON THE STAT SHEET
- Junior opposite Haotian Xia went for 15 kills and seven blocks. Only middle blocker Donovan Todorov had more blocks, going for a Gaucho season-high nine blocks to go along with five kills.
- Ryan Wilcox returned to the lineup following a one-match absence and tallied eight kills. Fellow outside butter Dayne Chalmers flirted with a double-double recording a team-best 11 digs and a season-high eight kills.
- Setter Patrick Paragas finished with 37 assists, seven digs and three blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Set (26-24 Pepperdine)
- For the first time this season, the Gauchos lost the opening set, despite opening up with a 12-8 lead.
- Although it was their least efficient game on offense, they managed to extend it past 25 points, but sealed the 26-24 win on a kill by Alex Gettinger.
2nd Set (25-21 UCSB)
- The second set provided more lead changes (6) and tied (12) than any other.
- UCSB held Pepperdine to just a .100 hitting percentage, compared to .269 for the Gauchos. After being tied 18-18, the last five points the Waves would concede came on attacking or service errors. Xia and Todorov combined for the game-winning block.
3rd Set (25-22 UCSB)
- The Gauchos took their momentum into set three and jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
- UCSB's advantage grew as large as six points a number of times throughout. The Gauchos never trailed until a set-clinching ace from freshman Geste Bianchi.
4th Set (25-21 Pepperdine)
- After a 6-3 UCSB lead to open the fourth set, the Waves got back on track, taking the lead with five unanswered.
- Pepperdine's offense remained hot the rest of the set, as the home side hit at a .560 clip the rest of the way for its largest win of the night.
5th Set (15-7 UCSB)
- Reaching a fifth set for the second time this season, the Gauchos flipped the script this time around. UCSB's offense simply couldn't be stopped, as it pounded away for seven kills on just nine attempts (.778).
- Pepperdine scored to come within one point at 7-6, but Xia started an 8-1 run to end the match. Over the course of that spurt, Pepperdine had four attacking errors while Xia recorded three kills to seal the deal.
NEXT UP
The Gauchos are back at home next weekend to face Penn State (Friday) and Ohio State (Saturday).
Install the new UCSB Gaucho Gameday app on your smartphone for exclusive UCSB coverage all season long. Now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
UCSB is moving to mobile ticketing beginning this season. For more information, click here.
