UCSB showed some spunk early in its men’s volleyball match against UC Irvine on Friday at Rob Gym.
The Gauchos battled toe-to-toe with the Anteaters and pulled out a 29-27 victory in the first set.
All seemed well at that point for UCSB.
UC Irvine, however, shook off the effects of a long van ride to Santa Barbara and took control of the match, winning the last three sets, 25-18, 25-19, 25-14.
“That team fought back and we didn’t want to fight with them,” said UCSB coach Rick McLaughlin of his team’s letdown after the first game. “We got to fix it over the next three weeks before the playoffs start.”
UCSB is in battle with Irvine, Hawaii and Long Beach State for fourth place in the MPSF standings, which would assure a home match for the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.
Friday’s loss drops the Gauchos (13-11, 10-8) into a fifth-place tie with Long Beach and Hawaii, while UC Irvine moves into fourth at 11-8. The Gauchos finish the season with home matches against Pacific and second-place Stanford and road matches at Pepperdine and at No. 1 USC.
Gaucho outside hitter Jeff Menzel was on fire in a tense first set, putting down nine kills in 13 attempts while adding a service ace and two block assists.
Menzel continued to supply points in the second game, but the Gauchos didn’t get much production from their other attackers. That, plus six service errors, gave UC Irvine a big boost.
Santa Barbara High alum Carson Clark and Cory Yoder sparked the Anteaters’ attack. Clark finished with 19 kills (.444 hitting percentage) and Yoder with 15 (.500) to offset a season-high 24 by Menzel (.432).
Clark attributed his team’s slow start to a long, arduous drive in heavy traffic.
“To be stuck in the back of van for three-and-a-half to four hours is pretty tough,” he said. “We had our chances in the first game but we didn’t close it when we should have. “We finally got it to go our way in the second game and our seving took off pretty well. We were able to keep it off Andy (UCSB libero Andy McGuire )and that’s a big thing to do against this team because, when they’re passing well they go to Jeff, who is pretty unstoppable.”
While he enjoyed a big night hitting, Menzel acknowledged it takes more than one player to win a match.
“It goes to show you it’s not about one player and it’s not about kills,” he said. “They were serving great. Our passing was so-so, but what really killed us was our own serving. We came out hot in that first game and after that it was errors, errors, errors, and those add up. We couldn’t get a rhythm.”
UCSB finished with 19 service errors and seven serve reception mistakes.
“They were really putting a lot of pressure on us from the service line,” said McGuire. “We didn’t pass real well. We had a lot of high balls and we couldn’t get our middles involved. It was a draining match after that first game, but hats off to them, they played a great match.”
The Gauchos gave up three straight points in the third set to fall behind 15-11 and never recovered.
The Anteaters kept the momentum and opened up a 17-9 advantage in the fourth set on a solo block by Kevin Wynne.
The match ended with UCSB serving the ball out for the final point.
Despite the disappointing outing, McGuire is confident the team will bounce back.
“I don’t feel it’s a huge setback.” he said. “We’ve been kind of even this year on the road and at home. We’re excited to build for these next three weeks and get ready for the playoffs. Whether we’re home or away, wherever we play, I think we’ll be ready for them.”
