SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (7-13) played their first match of the season in The Thunderdome, taking on the No. 5 UC Irvine Anteaters. This rematch only lasted three sets, and by the time it was over, it was UC Irvine who came out with the win as the Gauchos dropped this one with scores of 20-25, 15-25 and 22-25.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos started the match with the serve and recorded the first point with a kill from Patrick Kane. But the lead was short lived as the Anteaters started to gain traction. The visitors went on back-to-back service runs that gave Irvine the four-point advantage. Even though the Gauchos did everything they could to close in on the Anteaters, they couldn't finish the job as UC Irvine took the first set 25-20.
 
The second set started slow for the Gauchos as the Anteaters came out on top. The Gauchos were able to stay within one of UC Irvine. However, the visitors went on a six-point run caused by UC Santa Barbara's errors. This was all UC Irvine needed to make it to the end of the set as the Gauchos lost the second set 25-15.
 
With the match on the line, the Gauchos were ready to fight. They started off strong with Jack Walmer at the service line as they went up by three. UC Santa Barbara kept their opponents at a small distance before the Anteaters battled back into this set to tie the score at 10-10. They took the lead from there, going up by as many as three points before the Gauchos could make their comeback. Even though they tied the score up at 20-20, the Anteaters pulled away in the last few points, resulting in UC Santa Barbara dropping this third set with a score of 22-25.
 
LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Geste Bianchi finished the night with 15 kills. Along with that, he helped the team's defensive efforts with six digs and a solo block.
• Jack Walmer had a strong outing as the team's setter. He racked up 31 assists while grabbing the team's only ace of the night. He also added on five digs and two blocks.
• Outside hitters Ben Coordt and Patrick Kane contributed to the team's defensive efforts. Coordt led all players on the court in digs with seven while Kane led the team in blocks with four.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will make the trip to Honolulu as they take on the current No. 1 team in the NCAA in the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors. First serve will be at 10 p.m. PT from the Stan Sherriff Center. For those who can't make it to Honolulu, they can watch the match from home on ESPN+.