LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team faced No. 4 Southern California Saturday night, coming away from the match down 3-0 against the Trojans. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos stayed on pace with the Trojans through the first,  leading as far as 9-8. Santa Barbara evened the score at 14-14, then lagged by just a couple of points for the rest of the set. They came back three points from a 23-18 deficit before USC closed set one 25-21. 

The Gauchos nearly toppled the Trojans in the second after tying the set during its final stages, but USC nudged out a 25-23 success. The Gauchos started down at 6-1, but four straight points put them within reach of their opponents. Southern California reached a concerning 17-12 lead, but a sequence of Gaucho aces and Trojan mistakes put the two in a 20-20 tie. They remained knotted at 23-23, but it was the Trojans who would emerge victorious.

Southern California commandeered the third and final set and brought it to a 25-16 close. The Gauchos kept up with the Trojans through 6-5, after which USC carried the score away and stayed at least four points ahead for the remainder of the set. The Trojans would close it 25-16 and the match 3-0. 

The Gauchos nearly matched the Trojans' 35 kills and 33 assists, making 33 and 31 of their own. Riggs Guy led the team in kills once again, totaling 11, while Ben Pearson followed up with eight. Guy also led in digs with five and Pearson logged three, along with two aces. Cole Schobel averaged 10 assists per set, laying out thirty for the match. 

UP NEXT
The next matches for the Gauchos will be two against Pepperdine. First, the Gauchos will visit Malibu on Feb. 14 for a Saturday night bout. The Waves will visit Santa Barbara on Wednesday, Feb. 18. Both matches will begin at 7:00 p.m.