Sacred Heart University Department of Athletics
0-3
UC Santa Barbara
4-1
SHU Ends UCSB ASICS Invitational with Loss to Ninth Ranked UC Santa Barbara
1/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Sacred Heart men's volleyball team ended the UCSB ASICS Invitational by falling in three sets to the host and ninth ranked Santa Barbara Gauchos 25-16, 25-21, 25-21 on Saturday night. The Pioneers finish the tournament 0-3 with a five set loss and two setbacks to top ten teams.
After a close second set, in which Sacred Heart was leading 18-17 late, the Pioneers again put pressure on Santa Barbara towards the end of the third. Trailing 17-11 following a 6-2 run, and then 19-14, SHU went on 6-2 stretch of its own to get as close as one, 21-20. The run ended with three points in a row on kills by Taylor Bloomquist and Michael Comens, and a Gaucho error. UCSB would then call a timeout, which proved crucial as it responded with four of the final five points. A service error momentarily made it 23-21, but the Gauchos got a kill form Matt Marsh and service ace from Jonah Self to complete the sweep.
Although Sacred Heart had just two less digs, 22-20, and each team tallied six blocks, the Pioneers could just not overcome hitting .101, including .000 in the third set. Santa Barbara took advantage of that, but also hit .354 and swung over .300 percent in all three sets.
Comens and Chris Delucie led SHU with nine kills each, with Delucie adding a team-high two block assists. Freshman Noah Ricchetti finished with a team-best 17 assists, and Joshua Ayzenberg was one dig shy of reaching double figures with nine.
For UCSB it was Jacob Delson and Matt Marsh leading the offensive attack with 13 and 12 kills, respectively, while each hit at least .333. Jonah Seif had a match-high 31 assists.
SHU will now head east, but continues it five-match season opening road trip at 14th ranked Ball State on Thursday at 8:30 pm EST.
How it Happened
- First Set- UC Santa Barbara took control from the start, rattling off eight of the first ten points for an early 8-2 lead. Sacred Heart managed to get as close as five points eight times, including as late as 19-14 with three straight, but each time the Gauchos answered
- Second Set- Neither team led by more than two points until two consecutive points UCSB points made it 22-19. That ended a 6-2 run that began with Sacred Heart leading 16-14 after a kill by Doug Dzema. Following a Comens kill to put the Pioneers ahead 18-17, the Gauchos tallied three kills in a row by Marsh, Delson and Connor Drake for a 20-18 lead. A service error brought SHU back within one, but Santa Barbara ended the set with five of the final seven points with kills by four different players
