SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 17 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (8-9, 0-1 Big West) hosted No. 13 UC San Diego (14-4, 1-0 Big West) on Friday night, marking the beginning of Big West play. After starting in a 2-0 deficit, the Gauchos turned to their bench to extend the match. They played well; the Gauchos won the third set before falling in the fourth for a final of 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 25-20.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Pin hitter George Bruening returned to the starting lineup after missing the past seven matches, earning his first kill on the team's second point. After Josh Aruya served an ace to make it 8-8, true freshman Ethan Saint had a few confident swings to give the Gauchos a 13-12 lead. The teams traded points before Riggs Guy earned a kill to again put Santa Barbara up by one—now 18-17. Unfortunately for the hosts, San Diego used two blocks and an ace as part of a 5-0 run from there, taking a commanding four-point advantage. They would go on to win the opener 25-22.
 
In the second set, the Gauchos freshman excelled early on. Bruening had back-to-back kills, Saint had a kill, and Guy had a kill in a six-point span—part of a 4-0 serving run for Jack Walmer. However, three straight quality serves, including two aces, from the Tritons forced a Santa Barbara timeout down 10-8. San Diego would extend their lead to 18-13 before the Gauchos won two in a row. Again, the Tritons would rattle off a late-set run—6-1 this time—to ice the set. After a 25-17 score, it was 2-0 to the visitors.
 
Rick McLaughlin opted for an entirely different lineup to start the third set. Joe Wallace, Ben Coordt and Ben Pearson—returning for his first match since January 17—had all made appearances as subs already in the match, but they got the start in the third. Sam Meister, Andreas Schuetz, and Owen Loncar also started, with the setter Walmer as the only player to retain his starting place. It worked. Schuetz earned a kill on the first rally of the set, and a Meister-Pearson-Walmer triple block made it 6-3, firing up the home crowd. A pair of back-to-back blocks from the Tritons tied the score at 11. Then, with the Gauchos serving up 15-13, Wallace had a huge dig that led to a Loncar kill. Still tight, at 20-19 Gauchos, Schuetz had a great serve that caused a San Diego overpass, resulting in another Loncar kill. Loncar—again involved—then served an ace before a Meister-Pearson double block continued the momentum and forced set point. The Gauchos pulled one back thanks to the 25-20 victory.
 
The fourth set did not start well, though, as a 4-0 start for San Diego forced a very early Gauchos timeout. Walmer's ace quickly completed the comeback, putting the hosts up 10-9. Staying competitive, the teams were tied at 16 before a kill and ace from the Tritons forced Santa Barbara's second timeout, now down 18-16. Meister responded with an ace to re-tie it at 18, but the Tritons took over shortly after. Tied at 19, they won five in a row to help take the set, and match, 25-20.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Ben Pearson and Sam Meister were both great coming off the bench. Pearson had five kills on seven swings compared to Meister's four on seven swings. Both of them served an ace and combined, together, on two blocks, leading the team.
• Jack Walmer set up his teammates for a total of 36 assists, but was more impressive defensively. His eight digs led all Gauchos on the night.
• Outside hitter Owen Loncar had 11 kills to lead the team, the fifth time in the last six matches he has reached double digits. He also had five digs, only behind Walmer.
• In George Bruening's return to action, the freshman tallied six kills on 17 swings with three digs.

 
UP NEXT
With finals week approaching, the Gauchos have a full week off before competing against the Tritons once again. The two teams rematch in San Diego next Friday to complete their season series, with first serve scheduled for 6 p.m. Fans not traveling south can watch the match on ESPN+ or follow along with live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.