SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team upset No. 6 Pepperdine in magnificent fashion Wednesday night, sweeping them 3-0 and defeating them for the first time since 2024. After nearly defeating the Waves on Feb. 14, the Gauchos rallied to break Pepperdine's five-game win streak and claim a victory in straight sets. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams interchanged control of the match through the beginning of the first, with Pepperdine first reaching a 3-1 lead before UC Santa Barbara came back with their own 9-6 lead.The Waves caught up at 11-11, but the Gauchos made six out of the next seven points to give themselves a five point budget at 17-12.  Santa Barbara protected their heading until the Waves once again leveled the scene at 23-23. Ethan Saint then emerged as the champion of the set, who closed it out with two back-to-back kills. The Gauchos were the first to 10, 15, 20, and ultimately, 25 points. 

A similar story unfolded in the second set, with the Gauchos leading for multiple points at a time before the Waves tied it. Pepperdine first met the Gauchos at 10-10, then made up three points at 16-13 to equalize once more. The last tie of the set appeared at 20-20, then the Gauchos escalated. They made a final five kills to bring them to a 25-21 set victory. 

Pepperdine was just as good at tying the match in the third set, recovering from a 7-3 deficit to make it 8-8. The Gauchos inched ahead to 17-14, but the Waves reclaimed the necessary three points to see 17-17. Pepperdine saw its first lead of the set at 18-17, but the third remained deadlocked through 23-23. A kill by Riggs Guy brought the Gauchos to match point, but Pepperdine threatened the Gauchos' sweep when they held on to 24-24. George Bruening put down a kill to recreate the set point, then an attack error by Pepperdine provided the Gauchos with the critical victory. Though plagued by perpetual ties, the Gauchos never faltered, holding on to provide the Waves with their first 3-0 loss of the season. 

The Gauchos held the Jan. 25 AVCA Player of the Week Cole Hartke to just .088 hitting and 10 kills. Santa Barbara made 17 more kills than the Waves and out-dug them by seven. 

Cole Schobel had an incredible match, totaling 33 assists to average 11 per set. He also made a phenomenal six kills off of nine attempts, two aces, and a solo block.

George Bruening annihilated 16 kills while hitting .355 to average 5.3 kills per set. Saint supported with 12 kills and led the team in digs, plucking eight. Saint also led the team in block assists with three. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos are back in The Dome for another top 20 match up, hosting No. 19 Lincoln Memorial on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m.