• The Schedule
2022 Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship
presented by the Hawaiian Islands
SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii
Live Stats | Watch on: Spectrum Sports | ESPN+
Thursday, Apr. 21 at 10:00 PM (First Round)
No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 6-4) vs. No. 6 CSUN (6-15, 1-9)
if the Gauchos advance...
Friday, Apr. 22 at 10:00 PM (Semifinal)
No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 6-4) vs. No. 2 Hawaii (22-5, 7-3)
Saturday, Apr. 23 at 10:30 PM (Championship)
No. 6 UC Santa Barbara (18-8, 6-4) vs. TBD
• Tournament Time
The third-seeded Gauchos return to the Big West Tournament in Hawaii as defending champions for the first time after last year's magical run to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. UCSB will begin with a First Round matchup against CSUN, which it swept on back-to-back nights in March behind a staggering 5.50 kills per set (.638) from Ryan Wilcox.
The Gauchos own a 3-2 all-time record in the tournament since it began in 2018, including a 1-1 mark against the Matadors. With a win on Thursday, they will move on to the Semifinals to face No. 2 seed Hawaii on Friday night. All matches will be streamed on Spectrum Sports and ESPN+.
Big West Tournament Central Page
• Program Record Six Gauchos Earn All-Big West Status
For the third straight time, UCSB increased its number of All-Big West selections, with a program record six earning All-Conference status this season. Ryan Wilcox and Donovan Todorov were named to the All-Big West First Team. Dayne Chalmers and Patrick Paragas earned Honorable Mentions and Geste Bianchi and Max Gordon made the All-Freshman Team.
• Wilcox Adds to His Accolades
After starting the season with new responsibilities as the team's go-to offensive threat, junior outside hitter Ryan Wilcox followed up his All-American 2021 campaign with an even better junior season.
The Honolulu, Hawaii native posted career numbers across the board, resulting in three Big West Player of the Week awards. His 3.50 kills per set ranked fourth in the conference, highlighted by three different outings in which he averaged at least 5.00. Wilcox enjoyed perhaps the best hitting week of his career against the Gauchos' upcoming Big West Tournament opponent CSUN, when he averaged a remarkable 5.5 kills per set on a .638 hitting percentage in back-to-back March sweeps over the Matadors. Those performances also landed him his first ever AVCA National Player of the Week honor.
The 2022 Off the Block Preseason All-American now has eight career weekly honors – he was named Big West Freshman of the Week four times in 2019. He heads into the postseason also ranking top-20 in the Big West in points (7th, 4.11), aces (10th, 0.29), hitting percentage (12th, .280), digs (14th, 1.37) and blocks per set (18th, 0.60). From Feb. 11-Mar. 11, he had a 10-match streak of 10 or more kills and led all players in kills in five straight outings, both career-bests.
• Todorov Hosting the Block Party
After closing the regular season as one of just two Big West players to reach the 100-block milestone, middle blocker Donovan Todorov earned his first career All-Conference selection.
The 6-foot-6 sophomore has consistently ranked near the top of the nation's block charts, entering the Big West Tournament totaling the fifth-most blocks (100) in the country with an average of 1.14 per set. He has been a constant threat on both sides of the ball, averaging 1.70 kills per set on the third-highest hitting percentage (.454) in the Big West.
After missing the first two matches of the year, he would return to the lineup and help lead the Gauchos to wins in 14 of his first 16 starts. Over that span, they also went 9-1 against ranked opponents and 3-0 against schools ranked in the top-4. Todorov took home two Big West Defensive Player of the Week awards this season and currently has the Gauchos sitting No. 6 in the nation with 227.5 team blocks.
• Great Dayne
Todorov wasn't the only one whose return to the lineup garnered immediate success. Sophomore outside hitter Dayne Chalmers made his season debut with eight kills and 11 digs in UCSB's five-set win at No. 4 Pepperdine on Jan. 21, bringing a new, dynamic threat to the court on both sides of the ball.
The Costa Mesa, Calif. standout reached double-figure digs four times, including his lone double-double of 13 kills and 14 digs on Apr. 9 at Hawaii. He ended the regular season with three straight matches of at least 13 kills, reaching double-figures a total of six times in 22 appearances. Chalmers currently ranks second on the team in kills (170), third in points (208) and digs (127), and fourth in aces (15) and blocks (43).
• Setting the Table
UCSB's success on offense has relied heavily on the play of sophomore setter Patrick Paragas, who set up his teammates all year on his way to placing third in the conference and 10th in the nation in assists (10.02 Ast/Set). He joins Casey McGarry and Jonah Seif as the only two Gauchos in the last 10 years to average double-digit assists per set.
Paragas finished with at least 30 assists against every ranked opponent this season for a total of 21 times, reaching a career-high 54 on two occasions. He went for 48 in a four-set win at UC Irvine on Mar. 30, setting a new personal-best with 12 assists per set. He has tallied 861 assists in all, but his contributions don't end there. Paragas' 146 digs are the most on the team, while his 22 aces are second and 43 blocks rank fifth.
• Xia Is Back
Junior opposite Haotian Xia was out of the lineup for 10 matches in February and March, but has picked up where he left off with a handful of strong efforts down the stretch of the regular season. Arguably his best outing yet saw him go for career-highs of 21 kills (.447) and six aces against Hawaii. For the year, he sits 7th in the Big West in aces (0.38), 10th in kills (3.08) and points (3.85), and 15th in hitting (.271) and blocks (0.71).
• Taking Down The Top-9
Playing without a full lineup, Santa Barbara got out to a slow start to its season, opening the year against four unranked schools with a 1-3 record. After that, the Gauchos went on a huge run, winning six of their next seven matches against teams ranked in the top-9. On back-to-back Fridays, they took down the No. 4 team in the nation, beating Pepperdine on the road in five and sweeping Penn State at home. In their next two matches, they took down then-No. 9 Ohio State and then-No. 2 Pepperdine in convincing fashion in four sets. Including postseason play, the Gauchos have won 21 of their last 27 matches against nationally ranked opponents dating back to March of 2021.
• Pecsok's Huge Week Leads to National & Conference Honors
Sophomore libero Ryan Pecsok had a monster showing in two matches at No. 9 Grand Canyon last month, anchoring the defense with 52 digs in three matches en route to being named the Off the Block National Libero of the Week as well as the Big West Defensive Player of the Week. Pecsok topped himself in each contest that week, going for 10, 18, and finally 24 digs in the second straight five-set win over the Antelopes.
The Pacific Palisades, Calif. native averaged 4.8 digs per set in the Feb. 12 win over the Antelopes, racking up nine digs in the first set alone. Entering that week, his highest total for an entire match had been nine. The 24 digs that night were the most of any player in the nation during the 2022 season at the time. Pecsok currently ranks No. 5 in the Big West at 1.81 digs per set.
• Freshman Standouts
Former Orange Coast standout Geste Bianchi has showed flashes in his first year with UCSB, resulting in a Big West All-Freshman nod. He was one of five Gauchos to post over 2.00 kills per set, averaging 2.17 on an efficient .333 hitting percentage. His most prolific outings came in late March against Big West Tournament top seed Long Beach State, when he went into double-figures for the first time with 15 kills (.480) and finished with other season-highs of eight digs and two blocks. In UCSB's rematch with the Beach the following night, he went for his second-highest marks with eight more kills and five digs.
Libero Max Gordon came on strong towards the end of the regular season, closing things out with a solid six-match stretch in which he led the Gauchos with 49 digs (2.23). Three of his last four outings saw him reach double-digits, including a stellar 4.00 digs per set performance against Concordia where he recorded a match-high 12 scoops.
• Recapping an Incredible 2021 Season
A star-studded 2021 UCSB roster advanced all the way to the NCAA Tournament Semifinals as the Gauchos made their first run at a national title in 10 years. Four Gauchos were named First Team All-Conference for the first time, while a program record five became AVCA All-Americans and head coach Rick McLaughlin was named the USMC/AVCA DI-II Men's Coach of the Year for the second straight time. No. 3 Santa Barbara became the third team to win the Big West Championship, defeating No. 4 UC San Diego in four sets on Apr. 25. The Gauchos went on to earn their first tournament win since 2011 with another four-set win over No. 5 Pepperdine in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.
• AVCA Men's Division I-II Coaches Poll
After spending most of 2021 with a top-3 national ranking, this year's Gauchos began the year with a No. 11 preseason ranking. They have reached as high as the No. 5 spot and are currently ranked No. 6.
2022 NVA/AVCA Men's Division I-II Rankings
1 UCLA (17)
2 Penn St. (1)
3 Long Beach St. (1)
4 Hawaii
5 USC
6 UC Santa Barbara
7 Ball St.
8 Pepperdine
9 UC San Diego
10 Grand Canyon
11 Loyola-Chicago
12 Lewis
13 Stanford
14 UC Irvine
15 Purdue Fort Wayne
( ) – First place votes
• McLaughlin Returns Following Second Straight AVCA National Coach of the Year
For the second straight year, head coach Rick McLaughlin took home both the Big West and AVCA National Coach of the Year awards. McLaughlin earned his fourth career conference coach of the year honor in a year where the Gauchos went 15-5 with thirteen of their wins coming against nationally ranked teams. They spent almost the entirety of the year ranked as the third-best team in the country and were top-four every week.
The Gaucho head coach led his team to its first ever Big West Championship, giving the program its first conference tournament title and trip to the NCAA Tournament in 10 years. The Gauchos went into their first NCAA Tournament since 2011 ranking top-10 in the country in several statistical categories, being fourth in kills per set (13.10), assists per set (12.33), and digs per set (10.37). They also ranked eighth or better in hitting percentage (.318), win-loss percentage (.789), and team attack per set (28.99).
• New Year, New Opportunities
Following a year in which they held top-10 national rankings in kills, assists, digs and hitting percentage, the Gauchos are back on the court with a fresh lineup that will be without four of its five 2021 AVCA All-Americans.
Outside hitter Ryan Wilcox was the only non-senior to earn All-American status last year, and the only Gaucho this year to be named to the 2022 Off the Block Preseason All-American Team. The Big West Championship MVP returns for his junior campaign after leading the Big West with 35 aces and placing top-10 in kills (2.81), digs (2.14), points (3.5) and aces per set (0.47). He was a fixture in the UCSB opening-week attack against USC, leading the team in total attempts (76) and finishing second with 30 kills (3.33 K/S).
This year's 26-man roster features six freshmen and includes seven other returners who saw playing time last year. Sophomore middle blocker Donovan Todorov excelled in the final 15 matches of his freshman season as he finished near the top of the conference charts in blocks (1.17) and hitting percentage (.456). Also included among the returners are 2019 All-Freshman middle blocker Brandon Hicks, and sophomores who combined for 27 appearances last year in libero Ryan Pecsok and outside hitter Dayne Chalmers.
