SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Following a Thursday night duel against No. 8 BYU, the No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team rematched the Cougars on Friday. Though the Gauchos' performance was much improved from the previous outing, they once more fell 3-0 to their foe. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos kept up with the Cougars to start the set, keeping it even through 7-7. BYU went on a run to 15-9, then both teams added nine points to make it 24-18. Staring down a six-point deficit and BYU set-point, the Gauchos held the line, amassing a Herculean effort to recover the missing points and tie it at 24-24. They even pushed the set to overtime, matching the Cougars' additional points and staying even through 27-27. BYU was able to hold out, however, and they moved forward in the set win tally. Ben Pearson had a spotless offense in the first, going 5-5 in attacks and kills. He would continue through 7-7 and lead the Gauchos in kills for the match. 

The second set's scales tilted in the Gauchos' favor for some time, with Santa Barbara capably leading through 17-15. But, after BYU put up two points to tie it at 17-17, they took over the reins. The Cougars charged ahead five points to make it 22-17. Santa Barbara made up some ground before falling, reaching 20 points to compare to BYU's 25. 

The third set also finished 25-20 in BYU's favor. The round saw the Gauchos trail by several points throughout and never getting quite within grasp of the Cougars. They had a momentary opening at 18-16, but the Cougars closed it down after seven more points. The Gauchos did not once finish more than five points behind, however, as they mustered four to reach 20 points for the third set. 

A new slate of Gauchos entered for the third, with freshman Ryan Pilkvist and veteran Owen Loncar getting back on the court. Loncar immediately began slicing from the right side, notching four kills off five attempts. Pilkvist also hit near-perfectly, going two for three in his best outing yet. Josh Aruya led the team in blocks, walling six, while Cole Schobel led in digs with five.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos are on the road at Cal Lutheran on Feb. 5, where they will serve off at 6:00 p.m. On Feb. 7, they'll visit USC for a 5:00 match.