Junior setter Jonah Seif dished out 37 assists and directed his eighth-ranked UCSB men’s volleyball team to a .329 hitting percentage in a three-set sweep over No. 4 BYU in a MPSF match on Friday at Rob Gym.
The 25-21, 25-18, 25-22 win snapped a two-match losing streak for the Gauchos (5-2, 1-2 MPSF), gave the squad its first conference win of the season, and made them 5-0 at home so far in the young season. BYU fell to 3-2, 2-1.
Despite BYU’s impressive record under fourth-year head coach Chris McGown, the Gauchos have now claimed three of the last four matches between the two teams played at Rob Gym.
Seif, a 2014 AVCA All-American, had one of his best matches of the season, equally distributing the ball and preventing the Cougars from asserting themselves at the net. The Gauchos had a team hitting percentage over .200 in all three sets and had a different leading killer for each separate game.
Senior opposite Kevin Donohue and senior outside hitter Jacob Delson each had a dozen kills to pace the Gauchos. Senior outside Weston Nielsen added eight kills as well, and junior middle blocker Ryan Hardy was efficient off the quick set, collecting six kills on just nine swings.
“Overall, it was a good team performance and it was nice to re-establish our game on our home floor,” said UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin. “Despite the sweep, that was a good team on the other side of the net, and we expect another battle tomorrow night.”
BYU was led by Jake Langlois, who finished with an even dozen kills and a robust .500 hitting percentage. The other Cougar attackers failed to find a rhythm, as three BYU players finished with negative hitting percentages.
The Gauchos and Cougars will go right back at it Saturday night at 7 p.m.
