SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The #16 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (3-0) continues their season hosting the Emmanuel University Lions in the Thunderdome this Friday, Jan. 17, as their lone match this week.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos opened their season last weekend hosting the 60^th annual ASICS Invitational. Head Coach Rick McLaughlin described it as "exactly what we needed," as wins over Missouri S&T (3-0), Menlo (3-1), and Tusculum (3-0) capped off an undefeated start.
 
LOOKING AT THE GAUCHOS
The three-match weekend allowed for McLaughlin to get a lot of players time on the court. True freshman Riggs Guy seemed to benefit the most. The outside hitter was electric in his first collegiate matches, even tallying a double-double (13 kills, 10 digs) in the win over Menlo. Ben Pearson was also great, hitting .459 across two matches and swatting double-digit kills in both. It will be interesting to see how they, and others, have their roles develop against Emmanuel and beyond.
 
As a team, the Gauchos currently lead the country with 15.40 kills per set. Geste Bianchi has been a big part of that statistic, beginning his senior season strong. In the small sample, the opposite is second in the country in kills per set (5.14), following up last year when he led the country in the category (4.82).
 
Naturally, the team is also high up the assists per set leaderboard, ranking second. Transfer setter Cole Schobel is still getting used to UC Santa Barbara, spending 2024 at Loyola Chicago, but he was great in his first action as a Gaucho. His 11.57 assists per set currently ranks third in the nation, a number that is sure to benefit as chemistry with his teammates grows. Jack Walmer also has done his part; his 42 assists in the opening win over Missouri S&T is tied for the most of any player in a three-set match so far.
 
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Not to be confused with Emmanuel College in Massachusetts, Emmanuel University is a unique private school in the small city of Franklin Springs, Georgia. Enrollment at the school is "more than 900 students," according to their official website, with over 30 athletics teams including archery, bass fishing, and clay target shooting.
 
On the volleyball court, Emmanuel has yet to play their first match this season. The Conference Carolinas program is no stranger to the West Coast, though, having made trips to UC Irvine, Pepperdine, UC San Diego, and Hawai'i in the past two seasons. After playing the Gauchos on Friday, they travel south to meet #7 USC on Saturday and #10 Pepperdine on Monday.
 
Current sophomores Lucas Nieves and Greg Bodus both finished top-five on the team in kills last season, as did current junior Aidan Feeney. With heavy international recruiting, Lions players are from across the globe—the Netherlands, Cuba, South Africa, Portugal, and Australia.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
First serve between the Gauchos and Lions is scheduled for 7 p.m. For those unable to attend in-person, the match will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at ucsbgauchos.com.