They might have started thinking about the couch, some nachos and the big game a bit too early.
After dominating the third set to take a 2-1 lead, the UCSB men’s volleyball team allowed visiting BYU to keep the door ajar and eventually bust it open in the Cougars’ 29-31, 31-29, 15-30, 30-24, 15-8 win at Robertson Gym on Super Bowl Saturday.
It came just 24 hours after UCSB roared back from an 0-2 deficit to beat the Cougars in five on Friday night.
“They didn’t let go. They kept playing, and you’ve gotta give them their props,” said sophomore Jeff Menzel, who finished with a career-high 29 kills and a .250 hitting average.
“A 2-1 lead is dangerous mentally for sure. You get lackadaisical and think you’ve got it in the bag, and before you know it it’s 2-2 and you’re heading to a fifth game.”
Menzel had a kill followed by four straight points from the service line (including an ace) to close out the third game in dominant fashion, winning 11 of the last 15 points. BYU committed one of its 18 service errors to tie the score at 17-17 in the fourth, but Alex Da Pron notched kill on the next point and the Cougars led the rest of the way.
BYU took a 6-3 lead to start the fifth, grabbing four kills on the right side during that stretch. Cullen Irons and Scott Slaughter each tallied put-aways before the side switch at 8-5 and Slaughter added another right after to pull the Gauchos within two, but the Cougars and their healthy contingent of fans had too much steam.
Mat Taylor had a big night for the visitors, hitting .429 with 26 kills. Andrew Stewart added 21 kills for BYU.
Sophomores Slaughter and Irons combined to grab 27 kills for the hosts.
“I thought we actually played better tonight than we did last night, but BYU upped their play. They played great,” said UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin. “I think you could put those two teams out there and it could go five every time. It was really a battle.”
So the two up-and-coming squads will have to settle for a split, even though McLaughlin admitted that taking both matches against the Cougars “would have been huge” for his team. The Gauchos have not swept the season series since 1997.
“We’re drained a little but, but Monday we’re getting right back into it so we can’t think about that too much,” said Menzel.
At least they’ll be able to kick back Sunday and think about those nachos.
