PALO ALTO, Calif. – The No. 17 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team shut out No. 14 Stanford Friday night, ending the Cardinal's five-match win streak over the Gauchos and equalizing the previous night's loss. 

Following a hard-fought near-win on Thursday night, the Gauchos adjusted their strategy and did it well, coming away from Friday with their first ranked win of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Though set one stood even through 7-7, Santa Barbara pieced together a small lead at 10-7, with Josh Aruya earning an ace to make the Gauchos the first to double-digits. The margin only grew, and by 18-11, the Gauchos had run away with the score. Stanford managed to collect a couple more points before the set was done, but the Gauchos ended with a definitive 25-19 first-set win. 

The Gauchos got an early head start in the second, guiding the match until Stanford overcame them at 15-14. But, after Cole Schobel tied it at 18-18 with an ace, the momentum was back with the Gauchos. They grew a budding lead at 20-18 and it was smooth sailing from there.  Santa Barbara wrapped the second 25-20. 

The Gauchos faced the final test in the third set, but it proved to be no issue, as they cleaned it 25-16. Santa Barbara immediately reached 6-1 to lead by five, then doubled the difference at 15-5 to lead by ten. Santa Barbara stood firm and still led by ten at 21-11. The Gauchos allowed for a couple more points from Stanford, but before long, finished the set 25-16 and the match 3-0. 

Santa Barbara took down Stanford for the first time since 2020 and handed them their fourth loss of the season. The Gauchos hit a dazzling .402 in comparison to Stanford's simple .155 hitting average. 

Riggs Guy and George Bruening had incredible offensive outings, each hitting in the .400 range and reaching double-digit kills. Bruening led the match in both kills and points, slamming 14 kills and walling three blocks. Guy trailed just barely, striking 11. 

Cole Schobel totaled 35 assists across the three sets, giving him an average of 11.6 per set. Josh Aruya landed an excellent six out of eight kill attempts to hit .625.

Ben Pearson led the team in digs for the first time this season, picking up 10 to tie his career record. Dylan Plkvist continued to prove himself a valuable freshman, going five for nine in kills and leading the team in blocks with five.  

UP NEXT
The Gauchos return home to take on BYU in a two-match home stand on Jan. 29 and 30. They'll face the Cougars at 7:00 on Thursday in Rob Gym and 7:00 p.m. Friday in The Thunderdome.