UCSB's Dylan Davis (left) and Jeff Menzel go up for a block against Long Beach State.
After drawing even at a game a piece, the UCSB men’s volleyball team couldn’t come up with the big points and lost 3-1 against visiting Long Beach State in a hotly contested match that could be seen as a playoff preview in the MPSF. The game scores were 25-21, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23.
Jeff Menzel led the No. 4 Gauchos with 15 kills, but committed 10 attacking errors, as UCSB could not find an answer to No. 6 Long Beach’s powerful serving in the match played at the Recreation Center Gym.
“That’s probably the best serving team we’ve played,” said UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin. “”They don’t miss many, and they keep the pressure on you, so you have to be at the top of your game.”
Four 49ers recorded double digit kills, led by junior Brad Hemmerling with 14.
After dropping the first set due to a late 49er charge, the Gauchos stormed back to win the second, as Scott Slaughter and Menzel stepped up their game to combine for 8 kills and 4 blocks. Unfortunately for the Gauchos, the dropped set only inspired the 49ers to improve their game at the net. Long Beach outblocked UCSB 11-3 in the final two sets.
“I thought the key to the match was the first set,” said 49er coach Andy Read. “They came out and played great volleyball, and we just had to hang in there. They responded great in game two, and it became a best out of three. We knew we had a handful coming in.”
The 49ers won by showing an ability to close out sets. In the last 10 points of each set, Long Beach outscored UCSB 6-4, 6-4, 8-2, and 5-5, for a total of 25-15.
“That’s when you want to be strong,” said McLaughlin. “They played the bigger points better than we did. And that’s the sign of a really, really good team. Usually we’re the team doing that, but that team is a little better than us right now. We need to catch up to them.”
The Gauchos lost back-to-back games for just the second time this season, and stand at 10-8, 8-7 in the MPSF. Long Beach improves to 9-6 and 8-4.
UCSB next plays Cal State Northridge on Friday at Rob Gym.
