SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 12 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team enters its first week of Big West conference play as it hosts No. 11 UC San Diego at the Thunderdome on Friday. 

LAST TIME OUT 
UC Santa Barbara is coming off a match against No. 1 UCLA, where the Gauchos pushed the top-ranked Bruins in a 3-0 loss at the Thunderdome. Despite the result, Santa Barbara kept each set within two points and forced extra points in the second and third sets.

George Bruening led the Gauchos with 16 kills while hitting .412, while Riggs Guy and Ethan Saint each added 10 kills. The Gauchos also hit .459 as a team in the third set during a contested 32-30 finish.

SCOUTING THE TRITONS 
No. 11 UC San Diego enters the match with a 10-5 overall record and a 1-0 mark in Big West play after sweeping No. 17 CSUN in its conference opener.

The Tritons average over 12 kills per set this season while hitting .312 as a team. UC San Diego also ranks near the top of the conference in assists and blocks per set.

Individually, Sebastiano Sani leads the Tritons with 3.60 kills per set, ranking among the conference leaders. Luke Chandler has also been a key contributor on the outside, recording 15 kills while hitting .407 in UC San Diego's win over CSUN. Peter Selcho earned The Big West Defensive Player of the Week on March 2.

UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego last met in April 2025, where the Tritons earned a five-set win.

FOLLOW ALONG
First serve is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, March 6 at the Thunderdome. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.