UCSB Volleyball completes season sweep over #8 CSUN to finish off perfect 3-0 week

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - For the second time in as many nights, the No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball team (11-10, 2-2 Big West) beat No. 8 CSUN (15-7, 0-4 Big West), this time in the Thunderdome. All three Gaucho pin hitters—Riggs Guy (14), George Bruening (13), and Ben Coordt (11)—had double-digit kills as the team hit .350 in Saturday's 25-21, 19-25, 25-20, 25-15 victory.

After defeating Cal Lutheran on Tuesday and winning the first match at CSUN on Friday, this victory gives the Gauchos a perfect 3-0 week.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Last night's first set began 7-4 Gauchos, and tonight's was similar. George Bruening's third kill gave Santa Barbara an early 8-4 advantage, but CSUN would follow with a 4-0 run to tie it, including two aces. Later, down 12-11, Riggs Guy followed his kill with a 4-0 serving run—part of a 7-1 run—as the Gauchos flipped the score to 18-13. Comfortably playing the sideout game the rest of the set, Santa Barbara closed it out 25-21.

In set two, the teams started with a 6-6 tie. Like the 4-0 run in the first set, CSUN's Stilian Delibosov served an ace as part of a 6-0 Matador run. In an 11-point span, six points ended with Gaucho attack errors. That run was basically the difference in the set, as Santa Barbara could only get as close as four the rest of the way. Thus, the visitors won 25-19 to tie the match at one set apiece.

The Gauchos prevented any negative momentum from building in the third set, once again starting out to an early 8-4 lead. This time, they would not allow the Matadors to catch up. Owen Birg and Bruening combined on a block to bring the score to 14-9, and the teams traded points all the way until 21-15 when, ironically, another Birg-Bruening double block broke the pattern. Santa Barbara would cruise in the all-important third set 25-20, leading from the very first point.

Up 6-5 in the fourth, three straight kills from Cole Schobel, Ben Coordt, and Guy put the Matadors backs against the wall. A bit later, Guy served the second and final Gaucho ace of the night to conclude a 4-0 run, now 15-8 Santa Barbara. CSUN would get back to 16-12, but the Gauchos put the match on ice by winning four of the next five points—now 20-13. Then, leading 21-15, the Gauchos won the next four points to end the match with a 25-15 victory. As dominate as it gets, Santa Barbara had just one attack error in the final set, hitting .636 (15-1-22).

BY THE NUMBERS
As mentioned, Riggs Guy, George Bruening, and Ben Coordt combined for 38 kills, each of them in double figures. Guy and Bruening also tallied seven digs apiece, with Bruening leading the team with five blocks.
Just like last night, libero Joe Wallace and Cole Schobel led the team in digs. They both had eight, while the setter Schobel had 44 assists (11 per set).
When Schobel set the middle blockers, it was basically automatic. Owen Birg had a perfect six kills on six swings, while Josh Aruya had seven kills on eight swings. Combined, that amounts to a .929 hitting percentage (13-0-14).

UP NEXT
The Gauchos' next three opponents are all ranked in the top-five, beginning with No. 1 Long Beach State. Part of a Thursday-Friday set, the teams first play in the Thunderdome on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Fans not attending can watch the match on ESPN+ and follow along via live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).