The season is only four matches old, but the UCSB men’s volleyball team has already stayed at the Heartbreak Hotel three times.
The No. 14 Gauchos remained winless, losing their third 5-setter of the year on Wednesday night against ninth-ranked Long Beach State. Game scores were 23-30, 30-24, 24-30, 30-26, 15-9.
The culprit in the fifth set was serving. The Gauchos missed three serves in the early going and then allowed three consecutive aces from Long Beach’s Dan Alexander. Alexander added another ace that trickled off the top of the net four points later, putting the 49ers up 9-6. A kill by Jeff Menzel soon cut the UCSB deficit to one at 10-9, but Long Beach rattled off the final five points to close out the match.
“We couldn’t get out of that one rotation. Alexander got hot with some good jump serves, but we’ve gotta get out of that better. No excuses,” said UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin. “That was the difference, for sure.”
The Gauchos out-hit the 49ers in the fifth set .400 to .267 and had seven kills — one more than Long Beach — but the slip-ups in passing and serving were more than enough to nullify the hitting advantage.
UCSB went 3-6 in five-set matches last year.
“We’ve just gotta hang in there. After experiencing so many of those last year, we’re trying to learn from these losses and build off of each one,” said libero Andy McGuire, who finished with a match-high 22 digs. “We’ve gotta keep our energy up and start the fifth game quick.”
Menzel, a San Marcos High grad, finished with 25 kills on 55 swings with a chitting clip of .218, while Cullen Irons saw 54 sets come his way and put away 21, hitting .167. The Gauchos hit .212 in the match while the 49ers hit .200. Menzel’s big jump serve missed five times and didn’t produce any aces.
Six-foot-9 freshman Dylan Davis had a great match at the net putting away 11 kills on 16 swings with no errors. He also had four block assists, and the Gauchos out-blocked Long Beach 16.5 to 12.5.
“I’m real happy with Dylan. He’s a great freshman and he’s gonna be a great Gaucho for a long time,” said McLaughlin.
One of the coach’s biggest complaints after UCSB’s 0-3 run in their own tourney last week was that his players weren’t exhibiting enough energy or emotion. On Wednesday, Menzel and Irons led a spirited side that was fired up the whole way through.
“That’s what we lacked in the first three. We had some tough practices, the guys responded and the intensity went up. If we can keep that intensity throughout the whole year we’re going to get our wins,” said McLaughlin.
The Gauchos host UC San Diego on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Long Beach is now 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.
