SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team defeated Harvard 3-1 Saturday night to close out the final round of the 61st ASICS Invitational. The Gauchos open the 2026 season undefeated, having also beaten Kentucky State and Maryville earlier in the tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Harvard opened the gate with a first-set win, taking it 25-22. The Gauchos hit just 0.074 in the first and were unable to collapse Harvard's early lead.
The Gauchos finally clicked during the second, bringing it home 25-18. Santa Barbara and Harvard stayed even through the second, with neither team managing to gain more than a three-point lead until the set's finale. At 19-18, Santa Barbara went on a six-point scoring run that brought them directly to victory.
Santa Barbara shone in the third, capturing a 25-14 success for their cleanest win of the match. The Gauchos made off with a 7-2 head start and stayed at least three points ahead at all times. Senior Owen Loncar sealed the set with a service ace.
Finally, the Gauchos closed out the match by winning the fourth and final set 25-19. They held a slight initial lead before springing multiple points ahead of the Crimson.
Santa Barbara revived their hitting percentage after the grim first set, hitting 57% in the remaining three. As a team, they dug 42 digs and made ten aces.
George Bruening put on a hitting masterclass, annihilating 26 kills and hitting .455. He tied his career record in kills and made ten in the fourth set alone. Ben Pearson delivered the match's second highest kill count with nine, while Riggs Guy lasered eight. Guy also placed a career-best six assists.
Cole Schobel achieved all over the court, popping 42 assists, five kills, and a block. He also led the match in service aces with four, hit .714, and tied Jason Walmer for the match-high dig count at nine. Joe Wallace followed with seven digs and freshman Dylan Pilkvist made a team leading 5 block assists
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will continue home play for their next match, hosting The Master's University on Friday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome.
