MATCH STATS
- #11 UC Santa Barbara def. #10 CSU Northridge, 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17)
- UCSB improves to 10-9, 3-3 Big West; CSUN falls to 13-8, 3-3 Big West
- Santa Barbara, California
- Attendance: 200
- Box score
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – #11 UC Santa Barbara created a logjam in the Big West Conference for second place with a four-set win over #10 CSU Northridge Saturday night (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17). With UCI’s loss against Long Beach Saturday night, three teams occupy second place in the conference; #4 UCI, #10 CSUN and #11 UCSB. Hawai’i is just behind at 2-3 in the Big West, with a match against UCSD happening later tonight to possibly create a four-team tie for second.
The Gauchos were led by Corey Chavers for the second-straight night with 13 kills. His season- and team-high of 11 digs also earned him his first double-double of the season. Chavers also added 3 aces and 2 blocks. Keenan Sanders added 11 kills, 9 digs and 5 blocks. Rounding out the double-digit kill party for the Gauchos was Jack Truman with 10 kills on a team-high .438 hitting. Truman also added a match-high 6 blocks as UCSB outblocked CSUN, 12-10.5. Setter Randy DeWeese had a match-high 39 assists, a match-high 4 aces, 4 digs and 3 blocks.
CSUN, who had their five-match winning streak halted Saturday night, was led by Maciej Ptaszynski with 11 kills on .348 hitting. He also added 5 digs and 3 blocks. Dimitar Kalchev also added 11 kills, 8 digs and 2 blocks. However, his 5 service errors led to CSUN’s demise, as the Matadors committed 19 service errors to only one ace in Rob Gym. Arvis Greene also finished in double-digit kills with 10. He added 5 digs and 3 blocks. Setter Sam Porter finished with 32 assists, 5 digs and 4 kills. Libero Emmett Enriques dug a match-high 12 balls on the night.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy of UCSB Athletics
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – No. 11 UC Santa Barbara capped off a busy week with a 3-1 win over No. 8 CSUN on Saturday night at Rob Gym, avenging a four-set defeat from a night before and ending a four-match losing streak, all against top-10 opponents, in the process. Set scores were 25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17.
UCSB improved to 10-9, 3-3 with the victory while the Matadors dropped to 13-8, 3-3 and saw a five-match winning streak come to an end.
Junior outside hitter Corey Chavers paced the Gaucho offense in kills for the second straight night with 13, and also added a season-high 11 digs to notch his first double-double of 2018. Sophomore opposite Keenan Sanders (11 kills, nine digs, four blocks), freshman middle blocker Jack Truman (10 kills on .438 hitting, team-high six blocks), and junior middle blocker Connor Drake (five blocks) all played pivotal roles as well.
Sophomore setter Randy DeWeese dished out 39 assists and ripped four aces to help the Gauchos dominate the Matadors in the service ace department at nine to one. Chavers also added a trio of aces while sophomore outside hitter Roy McFarlandhad a pair.
CSUN had three double-digit kill performances and outhit UCSB .231 to .178 for the night, mostly by virtue of a stellar third set that saw the visitors hit at a .552 clip. The Matadors hit just .125 combined in the match’s other three games.
“This was a crucial turnaround for our team tonight,” said UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin. “We hope to keep that momentum going next week against Hawai’i.”
Strong serving was the theme for the Gauchos in the opening set. DeWeese got the Gauchos off on the right foot with three straight aces, including a pair of jump serves off the tape and down, to put them up 6-1 early. A tricky jump float from Drake forced CSUN into back-to-back attack errors later on as part of 3-0 UCSB run that made it 13-7. CSUN would eventually cut its deficit to as small as two at 18-16, but soon it was DeWeese’s turn to serve and he again punished the visitors, as UCSB ticked off three straight to gain a comfortable 22-18 advantage.
It was Chavers who served the Gauchos into good scoreboard position in the second. Inheriting a 4-6 deficit when he took over, Chavers opened with an ace as part of 5-0 UCSB lead that made it 9-6. Much later in the set, Chavers helped the Gauchos break through and reach set point after his tip got over a triple block and found the back left corner of the floor. CSUN’s Arvis Greene Jr. hit long on the next point to put the Gauchos up 2-0.
CSUN got into quite the rhythm in the third set, hitting at a .552 clip as a team, recording no attack errors, and putting up five blocks. Dimitar Kalchev was especially potent for the Matadors, knocking down six kills on just eight swings.
The match swung back in UCSB’s favor in the fourth, with the Gauchos rushing out to a big 9-4 lead on long service runs from McFarland and DeWeese. The Gauchos kept the pressure on throughout the set, having their best single-game of the night at the net with six blocks, and eventually the lead ballooned to as much as eight. UCSB notched three blocks as part of a match-closing 6-2 run, which ended with a CSUN serve into the net.
Courtesy of CSUN Athletics
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – One night after defeating UC Santa Barbara in four sets, No. 8 CSUN had the tables turned by the 11th-ranked Gauchos on Saturday as they held off the Matadors in four sets (25-21, 25-23, 19-25, 25-17) at Rob Gym.
The UCSB win snapped CSUN’s five-match winning streak and tightened up the Big West standings as the Matadors and Gauchos are now tied with UC Irvine and Hawai’i (which plays later on Saturday) at 3-3.
After CSUN out-hit the Gauchos .218-.212 in Friday’s 3-1 win at The Matadome, the Matadors out-hit UCSB by the margin of .231-.174 on Saturday but came out on the short end of the four-set decision. CSUN didn’t help themselves from the service line, committing 19 service errors while serving a single ace by Schylar Lillethorup.
A trio of Matador hitters reached double figures in kills, led by Dimitar Kalchev and Maciej Ptaszynski with 11 each. Senior Arvis Greene added 10 kills but hit .125 on 40 swings. Kalchev also added eight digs while libero Emmett Enriques scooped up a match-high 12. CSUN setter Sam Porter posted 32 assists, five digs and four kills in the loss.
For the second straight night, the Matadors got off to a slow start trailing UCSB 13-7 in set one following a Kalchev hitting error. Still trailing by five at 18-13, CSUN got kills from Greene and Eric Chance followed by a Gaucho hitting error to trim the lead to 18-16. A UCSB service error kept the Matadors within two at 19-17 but the hosts would claim six of the final 10 points to take the set 25-21.
CSUN opened set two by claiming six of the first nine points before a 7-0 UCSB run erased the advantage. The Matadors then countered with a 5-1 run to take an 11-10 lead following a Gaucho hitting error. Neither team led by more than two points as the squads battled to a 23-23 tie. But a kill by the Gauchos’ Corey Chavers followed by a Greene attack error put UCSB up two sets.
After committing 11 hitting errors over the first two sets, the Matadors were errorless on 29 swings in hitting .552 in taking the third set 25-19. After the two teams forged an 18-18 tie, Greene’s kill propelled CSUN on a 4-0 run. A Lillethorup service error gave the Gauchos their lone point as the Matadors closed the set on a 7-1 run.
CSUN however wasn’t able to sustain the momentum into set four as UCSB forced a Matador timeout at 9-4 and again at 14-8. CSUN still trailed by six at 18-12 when a kill by Greene and a Gaucho hitting error cut the deficit to four but the Matadors could get no closer.
Chavers led UCSB (10-9, 3-3) with 13 kills while Keenan Sanders added 11.
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