LA JOLLA, Calif. – Geste Bianchi and Cole Schobel returned to the starting lineup for the No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (8-10, 0-2 Big West) on Friday night at No. 13 UC San Diego (16-4, 2-0 Big West). Bianchi's 20 kills on the night were a bright spot in the team's four-set loss at the hands of the Tritons—21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Bianchi and Schobel were not the only notable additions for the Gauchos, who looked to avenge last Friday's four-set loss to the Tritons in the Thunderdome. George Bruening started his second straight match since returning from injury; Ben Pearson was in a similar spot having returned from injury as a sub last week, too. Libero Joe Wallace also was back in the starting lineup to round out the changes.
 
The Gauchos had great energy to start the match, leading the majority of the first set. Bianchi promptly earned a kill on the very first point, which was a sign of things to come. Despite not playing in over a month, there was no rustiness—he would end the first set with seven kills on nine swings. Before then, up 22-20, his ace put the set on ice. At set point, two consecutive San Diego overpasses fell to Josh Aruya, who buried his second attempt to give Santa Barbara a 25-21 first set victory.
 
The momentum stayed in the Gauchos' favor to start the second set. Bruening gave the visitors a 3-0 lead on three straight kills from the back row. After San Diego tied it, Bianchi's second ace retook the lead at 7-6. Down the stretch, the Tritons took a small lead that trickled to four by 19-15. Getting back to a 21-19 deficit, Owen Birg made a great play—on a Gaucho overpass, he met the Tritons' swing with a one-handed block to make it a one-point set. Pearson followed that up with an ace on the next point, tying to score at 21. Unfortunately, San Diego would rattle off three in a row from there to tie the match thanks to a 25-22 win.
 
Good serving guided the hosts in the third. San Diego led the entirety of the set, but the Gauchos were close early. The score was 9-8 Tritons before a 3-0 run forced a Santa Barbara timeout, followed by another 3-0 run that forced a second timeout, now 15-8. The Gauchos would shrink the deficit to four at 23-19, but that is as close as it would get in the 25-19 defeat.
 
The fourth set began with an 8-6 Gauchos lead, followed by a 5-0 San Diego run that included back-to-back blocks. As the teams traded points, the Gauchos' deficit stayed between two and four for a while before Bianchi earned a kill off the block to make it 20-19. However, the Tritons won three of the next four points to give themselves a three-point lead once again. They would win the final set 25-22 to conclude the match in four sets.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Excluding the BYU match, Geste Bianchi has played in seven matches this season. His 20 kills tonight marks the fifth time he has reached that number. He ends tonight with 5.28 kills per set on the year.
• George Bruening also had a solid performance, earning 13 kills on 24 swings for a .417 hitting percentage.
• In his return to the lineup, setter Cole Schobel tallied 42 assists. He combined on two blocks with middle blocker Josh Aruya, who had six kills on 10 swings.
• Joe Wallace got the start at libero and led the team with 10 digs—double Bianchi's five, who was second on the team on the night.
• In the first set, which they won, the Gauchos hit a blistering .524 (14-3-21) as a team.

 
UP NEXT
As the first matchup of conference play comes to a close, the Gauchos have 10 days off before they play at Cal Lutheran on March 25. Information on streaming will come at a later date, but live stats will be available as always on ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.