SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – After falling 3-1 to No. 4 UC Irvine earlier this week, the No. 11 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team upset the Anteaters 3-2 Friday night. 20 kills by George Bruening and 15 digs by Joe Wallace brought about the Gauchos' third top-ten win of the season and first win over Irvine since 2022.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine had a threatening first set win of 25-16. The Gauchos were off to a 3-0 start, but the Anteaters made 10 of the next 12 points to get ahead 10-5. Irvine had a padded lead for the rest of the set, but the Gauchos made a few late-stage points and ended nine behind.
UC Santa Barbara made their move in the second, usurping their previously-victorious opponents and taking the set 25-23. The Gauchos once again got off to an early lead, getting to a 6-2 start. They stayed several points ahead until Irvine caught up at 15-15. It was neck-and-neck through 19-19, then Irvine pushed a slight lead at 21-19. Two errors by the Anteaters put the Gauchos back in the mix for a 21-21 tie, then four Santa Barbara kills sealed the set for the Gauchos.
Set three was even through the beginning, with the teams tied through 11-11. Irvine then peeled ahead, reasserting themselves after the previous loss, and won 25-18.
The fourth set went back to the Gauchos, who once again avenged the previous set's loss. Santa Barbara maintained a healthy distance between them and Irvine for the entirety of the set while the Anteaters scrambled to catch up. The Gauchos started with an 8-3 lead and replicated the five-point surplus at 10-5 and 12-7. They forged three six-point leads on their path to victory before closing it out with a final, eight-point 25-17 win. George Bruening made six kills, Cole Schobel made 14 assists, and the team made 10 digs to keep themselves in the match.
The fifth set was a battle of attrition that saw the Gauchos outlast the Anteaters. It was tied at an initial 3-3, before the Anteaters got two ahead at 6-4, but Bruening laid down two more kills to get ahead 6-7. The set was then locked until another Irvine lead at 11-9. Bruening then dealt three kills in a row to post a 12-11 advantage. The Gauchos were up again at 13-12, but three Irvine kills brought the Anteaters to a 14-13 match point.
Ben Pearson emerged as a last-minute hero, providing a match-saving kill to make it 14-14. The Anteaters responded with another kill, then Pearson delivered again, and the Gauchos lived to see 15-15. Bruening put the Gauchos at 16-15 match point, then Riggs Guy ducked under a long ball from Irvine for the final point. The Gauchos defeated Irvine in the fifth 17-15 and the match 3-2.
Bruening had a showstopping 20 kills, averaging four per set. He reached a season-high 22 points and career-high four assists. Guy made 14 kills while hitting .357. Wallace matched his career-high in digs with 15 and three per set.
Schobel made a season-high 45 assists and picked up six kills to hit. 384. The team made their season-highs of 61 kills and 57 assists.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will host Cal Lutheran in The Thunderdome on Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m.
