UCSB was firing on all cylinders Wednesday night and roared past Cal Baptist in three sets to clinch a spot in the MPSF Tournament.
The fifth-ranked Gauchos hit a blazing .557 as a team in their 25-20, 25-14, 25-21 sweep at Rob Gym. It was their ninth sweep of the season.
UCSB improved to 16-8 overall with a 15-8 conference record, pushing the team a half-game ahead of idle UC Irvine for fourth place in the MPSF standings. No matter what happens in Friday’s regular-season finale against BYU, the Gauchos can finish no lower than seventh place.
This is the first time that the Gauchos have secured back-to-back playoff appearances in the Rick McLaughlin era, and the first time overall since the 2006-07 seasons.
It was one of the more dominant offensive performances in recent memory for the Gauchos. The team’s .557 hitting percentage was the fourth highest in the rally-scoring era, ninth highest all-time, and the best since hitting a program record .667 at Cal State Northridge on Jan. 21, 2011.
Leading the Gauchos on offense was junior outside hitter Weston Nielsen, who paced all players with a dozen kills on an efficient 16 swings. Fellow outside Matt Hanley added seven kills, while opposite Evan Licht recorded another eight, while leading the team from the service line with three aces.
Junior middle blocker Jake Staahl was his usual dependable self at the net, contributing seven kills on 10 swings and co-leading the team alongside Licht with four total blocks. Sophomore setter Jonah Seif did a little bit of everything against the Lancers, going a perfect 5-5 on dump attempts while dishing out 36 assists and recording six digs, three blocks, and an ace.
The UCSB attack was at its best in the first set, ending the frame with a .615 hitting percentage. Nielsen had a team-best five kills in the game, but four other Gauchos had at least three kills as well.
The Lancers (4-23) were led by opposite Johannes Brink’s 12 kills, but no other attacker was able to manage more than five kills.
The Gauchos wrap up their regular season schedule on Friday night against the BYU Cougars at 7:00 p.m. That match, originally scheduled to be played at the Thunderdome, has been moved to Rob Gym.
