SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (April 15, 2023) – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (6-16, 2-7 Big West) was back in Rob Gymnasium for the second leg of their series with the CSUN Matadors. This regular season finale had to be decided in four sets, but it was the Gauchos who left their Senior Night celebration with the win, taking down the Matadors 3-1 (25-18, 27-25, 25-21, 25-21). 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos came out strong in the first set, taking an early lead. However, the Matadors weren't going down without a fight. CSUN battled back from a four-point deficit to tie the set at 12's before UC Santa Barbara cleaned up their game. They came back to win the set with a score of 25-18.

The second set told a different story. Even though CSUN scored the first point of the set, that didn't dictate the result. These two teams exchanged the lead five times, not getting ahead by more than three points at any given time. When it came to the final points, it was the Gauchos who pushed forward. As the set entered extra points, UC Santa Barbara kept the Matadors at bay as they took the second set 27-25.  

Once the two teams came back on the court the third set, they saw a similar start to the second. The difference is that the Matadors came out on top. Cal State Northridge capitalized on the opportunity given to them and ran with it as they took the lead at 5-4. The visitors did not let up the lead from there, taking the third set 25-21.

After losing the third set, the Gauchos stepped back on the court with a newfound passion. They took the lead early on, causing the Matadors to take a timeout at 8-3 with the score in favor of the home team. Even with CSUN making one last effort at the end of the set, it wasn't enough to defeat the Gauchos. UC Santa Barbara won the fourth and final set 25-21.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Ryan Wilcox led the efforts for the Gauchos on Senior night, racking up 17 kills in his final game in Rob Gymnasium. Along with that, he led the team in aces with three while adding on eight digs.
• Nick Amoruso also made the most of his final regular season game. He ended the night with 16 kills while hitting .394 from the right pin. He also contributed to the team's defensive efforts, recording two blocks and seven digs.
• Ben Coordt has embraced his role as an outside hitter during the last game, and tonight was no different. He put up 10 kills with no errors to hit .455 while leading the team in blocks with three, including one solo block.
• Dayne Chalmers recently stepped in as the team's libero and has made a huge impact in the back row as he led the team with 12 digs. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will now look ahead to the postseason as they prepare to take on the UC San Diego Tritons in the quarterfinal round of The Big West Championships hosted by UC Irvine. More information about the game will come once it's available.