SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Coming up just short of sweeping the Big West regular season series against UC Santa Barbara, the 19th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team lost in five sets Friday night on the road.

Scores at Rob Gym went 22-25, 25-20, 25-18, 18-25, and 15-9 in favor of the Gauchos. 

With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 11-13 overall and 3-5 in the Big West.

UCSB improved to 8-16 overall and won its first Big West match of the season to move to 1-7.

The Tritons defeated the Gauchos in four sets back on Feb. 23 in La Jolla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The match featured 22 tie scores - nine of those coming in the second set and eight coming in the fourth. Despite the knots, there were just seven lead changes on the night.

The Tritons held an advantage on attack, hitting .283 (49-15-120) to the Gauchos' .233 (56-25-133). UC San Diego also held a 15.5-4 advantage in blocks. The Gauchos were in front in digs (54-44) as well as service aces (9-2).

The Tritons were led offensively by Sebastian Lara and Anthony Cherfan, who combined for 30 of the team's 49 kills with 16 and 14 respectively.

Defensively, Evan Boyle and Cameron Wurl each had nine digs. Jim Garrison finished with eight blocks (two solos).

For UCSB, Geste Bianchi posted a match-high with 23 kills. Ben Coordt added 13 kills. Three Gauchos amassed 10 or more digs including Jaden Glenn (18), Bianchi (13), and Jack Walmer 10.

The fifth and deciding set was tight early on. Tied 5-5, UC Santa Barbara went on a five-point run that included two kills and a block by Sam Collins. At 11-7, the Gauchos won four of the next six points to secure the victory. Sam Meister registered a kill and a block during the winning run.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego closes out its regular season next week, hosting second-ranked Hawai'i Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. inside LionTree Arena. Saturday's match will be Senior Night and Andrew Boyle, Gabriel Dyer, and Paya Vatanshenas will be celebrated prior to first serve.

Tickets for all home matches are available from the Triton Box Office.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.