SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (6-2) fell against No. 12 Lewis (7-1) on Friday evening in a thrilling four-set match—25-19, 17-25, 25-18, 28-26. Usual suspects Geste Bianchi and Riggs Guy had 23 and 12 kills, respectively, while Cole Schobel was clutch serving five aces.
 
One of four top-15 matchups across the country, this one was worth its billing. The final match of the season in Rob Gym produced the biggest home crowd for UC Santa Barbara so far, who were rewarded with many lengthy rallies and tense points, particularly in the fourth set.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
There was a lot of action before the fourth set, though. Three successful challenges occurred in the first 13 points, with four total in the first set, including one on the very first point of the match. Despite the chaotic start, the teams were competitively tied at 9-9. The Flyers would pull away shortly after, however, with a 6-2 run to get to 19-14. They would hold that lead the rest of the way to a 25-19 first set win.
 
To start the second, the teams traded every point to a 7-6 Santa Barbara advantage before a Schobel ace broke the pattern. In fact, his ace came amidst a rough stretch in the match with eight service errors in a 12-point span between both teams. Later, tied at 14, a Bianchi kill gave serving duties back to Schobel. The sophomore setter rattled off a 6-0 serving run, including three aces and inducing two other poor receptions that directly resulted in Gaucho points. From there, the Gauchos cruised to a 25-17 victory, tying the match at one set apiece.
 
A poor start hurt the Gauchos in the third set. Down 5-1, Rick McLaughlin was forced to call a timeout. The Gauchos would get back to 11-9 and 12-10 deficits, but Lewis would go on a run any time Santa Barbara would get close. Ballooning their lead to 16-10, Lewis held on to 20-17. Another 4-0 run forced set point, though, and the Flyers took set three 25-18.
 
The Rob Gym crowd came to life with the Gauchos' backs against the wall in the fourth set. Another early tie—at 7-7—was followed with a kill and 4-0 serving run from Bianchi, including an ace. With UC Santa Barbara up 14-10, the Flyers went on a 4-0 run of their own to tie the score. The teams traded consecutive points until 19-19, but ties continued at 21, 22, and 23. Perhaps the lengthiest rally of the night happened at 23-23, where a slew of digs and players desperately keeping the ball up eventually resulted in a Lewis point, forcing match point, after an unsuccessful Santa Barbara challenge. Ben Coordt's kill kept the match alive, but Lewis earned a kill on the ensuing point to force match point number two. Immediately after, Bianchi's kill tied it at 25 apiece, and Guy had a huge dig on the following point that led to another Bianchi kill—the Gauchos now with set point at 26-25. Unfortunately for the hosts, Lewis would win the next three points, and the match, for a final fourth-set score of 28-26.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Geste Bianchi's 23 kills on 51 swings gives him 5.50 kills per set on the year. Now, officially, he qualifies for the leaderboard and surely leads the country.
• The 87 combined digs between the two teams show just how contested this match was. Cole Schobel led the Gauchos with 11, while libero Joe Wallace and Riggs Guy had eight, plus Bianchi's seven.
• As mentioned, Schobel's team-leading five aces seemed to all come in high-leverage moments. The setter also provided 39 assists.
• Josh Aruya came on in the middle block to start the fourth set, and he made an instant impact. The sophomore had four kills and no errors on six swings in his lone set.

 
UP NEXT
UC Santa Barbara travels to the electric Smith Fieldhouse to play fifth-ranked BYU on Friday and Saturday next week. Fans not making the trek to Provo can watch on B1G+ and follow along via live stats on ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.