STOCKTON, Calif. – Following a hard loss against Stanford the previous night, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos rallied to dominate University of the Pacific in straight sets (25-15, 25-17, 25-23). This victory marks the first defeat of Pacific in straight sets since 2010 and the first win at Pacific since 2011. UCSB improves to 9-4 overall, 8-4 MPSF.
The offense for the Gauchos was formidable. Evan Licht and Matt Hanley both struck for 15 kills, Licht hitting .542 clip for the match and Hanley .407 clip. Austin Kingi (.385 clip) also tacked on 13 kills of his own while assisting on a block.
UCSB was able to hold the Tigers to .184 team clip and put back six blocks against the Pacific attack. Senior middle blocker Ryan Thompson solidified the Gaucho defense with assists in three team blocks. In addition, sophomore setter Jonah Seif assisted in two blocks at the net.
Next Friday UCSB travels to UC Irvine for the second half of their four game road trip. Previously, the Gauchos lost to UCI in five sets at Rob Gym. Following the match against UCI on February 28, the Gauchos will travel to San Diego to take on UCSD March 1.
