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University of California, Santa Barbara

Ben Coordt up for a swing
Matthew Sillers
0
Cal Lutheran CLU 14-3,0-0 DIII Independent
3
Winner UC Santa Barbara UCSB 8-6,0-0 Big West
Cal Lutheran CLU
14-3,0-0 DIII Independent
0
Final
3
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
8-6,0-0 Big West
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Cal Lutheran CLU 25 20 18 (0)
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 27 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball |

Balanced Attack Helps Gauchos Sweep Cal Lutheran

Three players earned double-digit kills as the No. 16 Gauchos swept Cal Lutheran on Tuesday night in the Thunderdome.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 16 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (8-6) used a balanced attack to sweep Cal Lutheran (14-3) on Tuesday night in the Thunderdome—27-25, 25-20, 25-18. Three Gauchos—Ben Coordt (14), Riggs Guy (12), and Owen Loncar (10) had double-digit kills and Jack Walmer dished 41 assists in just the three sets.
 
FROM HEAD COACH RICK MCLAUGHLIN
"Good to get a couple wins in a row. The guys are improving," McLaughlin said. "It will be good to play a top-ranked team tomorrow and see where we are at, and what we need to do to be ready for the [Big West Championship] in April."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Although a Division III team, Cal Lutheran is no easy opponent. Last year, they took a set from the Gauchos and sent two others to extra points. The Kingsmen are the defending national champions at their level and currently rank eighth with just two losses coming into tonight's match.
 
On the flip side, the Gauchos came into tonight's match with a bit of momentum, winning last week at the MPSF's Concordia University Irvine. The first set did not begin smoothly, though. After the teams worked to a 14-14 tie, two blocks and three kills accounted for a 5-1 Kingsmen run. Somewhat surprisingly down 19-15, the Gauchos showed their prowess by rattling off five in a row to take the lead, including an ace and 4-0 serving run from Riggs Guy. At 22-21 Gauchos, a Ben Coordt-Jack Walmer-Josh Aruya triple block was crucial, giving Santa Barbara a two-point advantage. Cal Lutheran would stave off three set points, but a Coordt kill would bring the fourth, now 26-25 Gauchos. Walmer was clutch, serving an ace to win the set 27-25.
 
The teams regrouped for the second set, staying competitive. It was 8-7 Gauchos before an Owen Loncar kill brought Guy to the service line. This time, the freshman had a 5-0 serving run, adding another ace to his tally. The Gauchos now had a commanding 14-7 lead that they would use to cushion themselves the rest of the set. The Kingsmen followed by winning three in a row, but the teams traded 18 consecutive points to the score of 23-19 Santa Barbara. Coordt's kill shortly after closed it out—25-20—and capped off a 19-2-33 (.515 hitting percentage) set for UC Santa Barbara.
 
After the third set began 8-7 Kingsmen, Santa Barbara won seven of the next nine points—concluded by an Owen Birg ace—to give the Gauchos another early lead, 14-10. Substitute Sam Meister was involved on the next three Gauchos points with a block, kill, and another block. Holding the lead to 19-16, Birg did something similar, earning a kill, kill, and block on consecutive points to help push the score to 23-16. At match point, both Birg and Loncar each had nine kills. Ethan Saint came on as a serving sub for Birg, the freshman receiving cheers from the Gauchos bench. Loncar ultimately swung for his 10th kill to end the set, 25-18, and match.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
  • Do not feel bad for him though, as Owen Birg was still phenomenal. The middle blocker hit .667, earning the nine kills on just 12 swings. He had four total blocks with one solo.
  • Ben Coordt tallied a team-leading and season-high 14 kills, hitting .345. His seven digs also led the team.
  • Riggs Guy and Owen Loncar had 12 and 10 kills, respectively, each of them earning six digs. Loncar had a team-leading four block assists while Guy had a team-leading two aces.
  • Libero Max Gordon got the start and had his best match yet—his 12 digs led the team. Jack Walmer was also excellent, coming one assist shy of the 42 he had in the three-set win over Missouri S&T, the first match of the year. Only three Conference Carolinas setters have more assists in a three-set match than Walmer so far this season.
  • The Gauchos hit .394 as a team, but that does not even tell the full story. Taking away the first set, the Gauchos hit an incredible .492 (34-4-61) in the final two sets.
 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos have a quick, and tough, turnaround. Tomorrow (Wednesday) night, Rick McLaughlin's squad travels to Pauley Pavilion to face No. 2 UCLA (8-3), whom they upset in a five-set classic last season. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Gauchos fans not traveling to Westwood can watch on B1G+ or follow along via live stats as always at ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.
 
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