UCSB couldn’t take advantage of a two sets to none lead and dropped a five-set men’s volleyball match to UCLA in the opener of the UCSB Asics Invitational on Friday at Rob Gym. The scores were 25-27, 21-25, 25-22, 25-14, 15-13.
The Gauchos play Lewis in a consolation bracket match at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Lewis lost to UC San Diego in five sets. UCLA plays UCSD in the semifinals.
In other opening matches, UC Irvine swept Cal Baptist and Long Beach State beat Loyola of Chicago in three sets.
In the fifth set, UCLA capitalized on a block by Robert Page and a hitting error by the Gauchos to score back-to-back points and take a 12-11 lead. After a UCSB timeout, the Bruins scored again on a block by Gonzalo Quiroga of an Evan Licht attack.
Dylan Davis earned a sideout and point for UCSB to make it 13-12, but the Gauchos couldn’t catch the Bruins. Page put down the last two points for UCLA, giving John Speraw a victory in his coaching debut at his alma mater.
UCLA hit .286 in the final set, while UCSB’s percentage was .143.
Individually, Ryan Hardy led the Gauchos with 13 kills and a sparkling .688 hitting average. Miles Evans and Austin Kingi each had 11 kills and Davis had nine and six block assists. Setter Jonah Seif dished out 50 assists. Chad Kingi scooped up 13 digs and his brother, Austin, had 12.
Page was the go-to guy for UCLA with 22 kills and an impressive .514 average. He also had 11 digs and two solo blocks. Quiroga added 11 kills and Dane Worley had eight.
