SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (March 16, 2023) — The UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team (5-12, 1-3 Big West) nearly upset No. 6 UC Irvine (13-6, 3-0 Big West) at Rob Gym Thursday night, taking the first two sets before ultimately falling, 3-2 (25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 11-25, 11-15).

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set saw an intense back and forth, but the Gauchos found their momentum on their hitting as Nick Amoruso entered the game after Owen Birg came off due to an injury. The two teams kept the game tied until UCSB pulled away with a kill by Amoruso and a strong block from the front row to end the set, 25-23.

The next frame was no less exciting, filled with a couple of contentious calls and Irvine coming back in the latter half, but five straight kills from Ryan Wilcox extended the Gauchos lead again, and a service ace from the Honolulu native ended the second frame in UCSB's favor.

Sets three and four saw the Anteaters' offensive come alive as the Gaucho struggled defensively to make the necessary plays to respond as UC Irvine forced a fifth set. While Santa Barbara was hungry for the win, the Anteaters' hits proved to be too much for the Gauchos' back row and unable to overcome Irvine's four-point lead in the final frame.

ON THE STAT SHEET
● Nick Amoruso led the Gauchos with his impressive performance, reaching a season-high 17 kills, 10 digs, and totaling 18 points for the night.
● Jack Walmer also had a double-double performance after tying his season-high 12 digs and racking up 39 assists.
● For the fourth game in a row, Ryan Wilcox reached double-digit kills with 11 and also collected six digs and a total of 12 points.
● Dayne Chalmers also contributed to the scoring with 10 kills, nine digs and 11 total points.

UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara will play Irvine again on Friday, March 17. First serve is at 7 p.m. from the Bren Events Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live stats will be available through ucsbgauchos.com