UCSB libero Chad Kingi dives to keep a ball alive for the Gauchos. (Presidio Sports Photos)
UCSB lost to Long Beach State 22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 15-13 on Friday night at Rob Gym.
Coming off of a loss to Cal State Northridge, the Gauchos, now 5-11, desperately wanted this win to help them reach the playoffs.
UCSB's Miles Evans hits through a trio of Long Beach blockers in the second game of Friday's Big West Conference match.
“We got to get eight wins to get into the playoffs,” said Coach Aaron Mansfield, “and we missed a few key opportunities here.”
UCSB started well and captured the first two games, but Long Beach capitalized on UCSB’s errors and took control of the last three games.
The Gauchos trailed Long Beach the entire fifth game. They had a flash of hope when Austin Kingi blocked a ball making the score 13-14. The slight momentum, however, was fleeting and they lost the match 13-15.
“It was mental fatigue,” said Mansfield, “not physical fatigue.”
“We come out fired up,” said Dylan Davis, “and we just can’t close.”
The fourth was another game of catch-up as the Gauchos struggled to keep up with Long Beach. Miles Evans had an amazing dig as he dove into the score table and then got back into the play to get the kill for 8-12. Ryan Thompson also scored big with a solo block at 18-20. Their errors outplayed their efforts, however, and UCSB lost 25-19.
The Gauchos sailed through the first two games, staying ahead the entire time and winning 25-22 and 25-20.
“It’s a young group,” said Mansfield, “they haven’t figured out how to grind mentally.”
UCSB’s next game is against UCI on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Rob Gym.
Jim Baughman recorded a team-high 12 kills to go with two blocks for Long Beach. Trevor Crabb added 10 kills, Colten Echave eight kills, and Taylor Crabb six for the 49ers.
For UCSB, Dylan Davis had 17 kills and 5 blocks. Miles Evans collected 10 kills while Keven Donahue had 9 blocks. Ryan Thompson added 5 kills and 3 blocks. Austin Kingi finished with 8 kills for UCSB.
