UCSB took its hot streak on the road and beat Pacific 25-17, 20-25, 25-18, 25-19.
The Gauchos (10-6, 7-5) have now won five of its last six matches dating back to their win over Hawai’i on Feb. 4. Pacific dropped to 2-8 in conference play and 6-10 overall.
The Gauchos secured the win despite having only two players finish with hitting percentages over .280. Senior middle blocker Scott Slaughter, the MPSF leader in hitting percentage, did not disappoint with nine kills and an error on 16 attacks for a .500 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Trey Valbuena finished the night with eight kills on a .333 hitting percentage. Senior setter Vince Devany racked up 41 assists- he has reached 40 assists in each of his past five matches. Senior libero Andy McGuire had a match-high 17 digs, a season high for him.
Senior outside hitter Jeff Menzel had 10 kills, and reached the double-digit kills mark in nine straight and in 13 overall out of UCSB’s 16 matches. Menzel also notched a pair of service aces. Senior opposite Cullen Irons had a match-high 18 kills. The two seniors also chipped in seven digs apiece.
Pacific was led by Florian Gornik, who led his team in both kills (12) and digs (10), the only Tiger to reach double-digits in either category. Pacific only hit .133 as a team.
The Gauchos finish up their Northern road trip Saturday night against the defending national champions, Stanford.
