SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team clinched their second home ranked win of the week after overwhelming No. 19 Lincoln Memorial Friday night. Following a Wednesday sweep of No. 6 Pepperdine, the Gauchos played the Railsplitters for just the second time in history and avenged their 2023 3-2 loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Railsplitters came on strong out of the gate, leading the Gauchos for the first half of the first set. Santa Barbara resided one to two points behind until they hit a tie at 14-14. They climbed their way to victory, moving point-by-point towards the finish and staying only a couple ahead of their opponents. Finally, with a block put up by Dylan Pilkvist and Riggs Guy, the Gauchos took set one 25-22.
The teams jockeyed for the lead during the first several points, keeping it tied through 8-8. An ace by George Bruening made it 10-8, and the Gauchos would hold the lead for the rest of the set. An eight-point crevasse materialized at 19-11, but the Railsplitters managed to navigate it, coming back seven points before the set was through. The Gauchos were too far ahead, however, as they only needed to make six more to clinch the second stage. Dylan Pilkvist sealed it with an ace.
The Railsplitters rose to victory in set three, catching a slight lead at 12-10 and never relinquishing it. They hovered just a couple of points ahead of the Gauchos for the set, with Santa Barbara unable to stitch up the gap. LMU pulled further during the final points of the set, first reaching 23-19 before nailing the final two points for the win.
The Gauchos recuperated in the fourth, laying out an early 10-4 lead. They stayed several points ahead throughout the set, reaching two more six-point leads at 20-14 and the final 25-19. A service error by Lincoln Memorial sealed their fate and the Gauchos had the match 3-1.
Bruening continued his offensive majesty, delivering a team-high 14 kills to total 30 for the week. He also reached a career-high 11 digs and led the team in the stat. Cole Schobel and Jason Walmer followed with nine. Mikey Denver led in blocks with six, while the team amassed 12 blocks. Dylan Pilkvist went three for six to hit 50% and made five blocks.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos are back out to host No. 1 UCLA in The Thunderdome on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 7:00 p.m.
