PHOENIX, Ariz. – The No. 16 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (5-1) battled, but ultimately fell in the second match of two at No. 10 Grand Canyon (5-1). After beginning in a 2-0 hole, the Gauchos forced a fifth set but could not complete the reverse sweep. After sweeping the Lopes yesterday, Santa Barbara returns from their first road trip with a valiant split.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lopes turned the page well from last night, starting with a 6-1 lead after back-to-back blocks. The start plagued the Gauchos, who would only get as close as four the rest of the set. Grand Canyon went on an 8-0 run to really pull away, eventually winning the first set 25-11.
 
To start the second set, Geste Bianchi stepped onto the court for the first time all weekend. Another notable substitute, reigning Big West All-Freshman Team selection Josh Aruya, checked in for his season debut. 
 
After trading points early, Bianchi's fourth kill forced a GCU timeout at 10-6. The Lopes would come back to take the lead at 14-13, though, in part due to a few Gaucho service errors. Then, ties happened at 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25, but the Lopes ultimately won the last two points for a crucial set victory.
 
In the third, serving woes continued to bite UC Santa Barbara. By the media timeout, seven of the Lopes' 15 points were via Gaucho service errors, with the hosts holding a 15-12 advantage. However, the Gauchos were resilient, taking the lead at 18-17 thanks to three consecutive kills from Riggs Guy, Bianchi, and Aruya. That began a 6-0 run, allowing Santa Barbara to extend the match with a 25-19 win.
 
The fourth set remained competitive, beginning with a 9-9 tie. From there, the Gauchos stayed a point or two ahead for a bit before GCU took a brief 16-15 lead. Later, a 21-21 tie was followed by back-to-back aces from Ben Coordt, and a set-clinching GCU block error won Santa Barbara a 25-23 fourth. 
 
In the winner-take-all fifth set, Grand Canyon's 3-0 run forced a Santa Barbara timeout down 6-3. A Lopes ace then made it 9-4, while the Gauchos had service errors on five straight serves. The Lopes would win the back-and-forth match with a 15-9 final set victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Geste Bianchi had nine kills in the second set, six in the third, and six in the fourth. He now has 5.15 kills per set on the year, which likely leads the country.
• Riggs Guy followed up last night's 15-kill performance with 13 kills tonight. He now has double-digit kills in three of five matches played.
• Ben Coordt had 10 kills with just one attack error, good for a .429 hitting percentage.
• Cole Schobel led the team with 10 digs and provided 49 assists, a new career high. Libero Joe Wallace finished just behind him with nine digs.

 
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara is back at home next week for two matches on Wednesday and Friday. They play Concordia (Irvine) in the Thunderdome on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before hosting No. 13 Lewis in Rob Gym on Friday at 5 p.m. For those who cannot make it, both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available at ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.