UCSB falls in 4 sets at #2 UCLA in men’s volleyball

WESTWOOD, Calif. - The No. 16 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (8-7) had a respectable road performance against No. 2 UCLA (9-3) but ultimately fell in four sets on Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion. With some key players out, the Gauchos nonetheless won the second set and took the third to extra points, resulting in the final scoreline of 25-18, 21-25, 26-24, 25-21. For the second night in a row, Owen Loncar (12), Riggs Guy (12) and Ben Coordt (11) all had double-digit kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED
It was a tough start for the Gauchos as a few service errors and Bruins aces gave the hosts a 10–4 early lead in the first set. Santa Barbara responded by winning the next three in a row, but the Bruins followed that with a 6–2 run. Now with a seven-point lead, at 16–9, UCLA was comfortable trading points the rest of the set. The set ended with a 25–18 score.

The Gauchos turned the page quickly, though. To start the second, Owen Birg earned a kill or a block on four of the first five Gauchos points, helping them to a 5–1 advantage. A successful UCLA challenge flipped the score from 6–1 to 5–2, but the Gauchos did not let the early momentum switch. Soon after, Santa Barbara went on a 4–0 run concluded by back-to-back Ben Coordt aces. Midway through the set, the Gauchos lead grew to 14-7. Slowly but surely, the Bruins would get back to a two-point deficit at 20-18, yet that is as close as they would get. The Gauchos held UCLA to a .000 hitting percentage (6-6-22) in the set on the way to a 25–21 victory.

Now tied at one apiece, the third set would prove crucial. As is the case for most volleyball matches, runs continued to be the storyline. After beginning the set in a 3–0 hole, four Gauchos earned points during a 9–3 run, resulting in a 12–9 advantage. The Bruins followed with a 3–0 run to tie, and the teams traded points for a bit until UCLA was up 20–18. Riggs Guy then earned a kill, bringing Josh Arya to the service line. The middle blocker served an ace that just nicked the back line before serving another floater for a consecutive ace. A Coordt kill followed and the Gauchos were fired up, now leading 22-20. The Bruins tied it again at 22 and 23 before Owen Loncar's kill made it set point Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, a service error, UCLA kill, and UCLA ace closed out the set and swung the match in the hosts' favor. Despite out hitting the Bruins .346–with just two errors—to .321, the Gauchos fell 26-24.

In the fourth, UCLA won five in a row, helping them start with an 8–5 advantage. A bit later, after winning three in a row, it was 15-10 Bruins. Ultimately, they would ride that lead out the rest of the set. Aruya swung for a kill to make it 17-14, but Santa Barbara could not gain enough traction to come all the way back. The Gauchos would shrink the deficit to three a few more times before dropping the set 25-21.

BY THE NUMBERS
Ben Coordt followed up his stellar performance last night against Cal Lutheran with another one tonight against a top-ranked team. Hitting .444 (11-3-18), he also had the aforementioned two aces and four digs.
Owen Loncar continues his great form, tallying his third straight double-digit-kill performance. He earned 12 tonight to tie for the team lead—his six digs also led the team.
Riggs Guy was the other Gaucho with 12 kills, also earning four digs and a team-leading three blocks.

UP NEXT
The two teams have a day off tomorrow before meeting again on Friday night in the Thunderdome, with first serve set for 7 p.m. Fans not attending can watch on ESPN+ and follow along via live stats on ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).