Gauchos upset #3 Hawai’i on Senior Night
Mike Klan
UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team (12-15, 3-7 Big West) celebrated Senior Night on Saturday with an upset sweep of No. 3 Hawai’i (24-5, 7-3 Big West). All active seniors were in the Gauchos starting lineup, playing their hearts out to a 25-22, 25-22, 27-25 instant classic night in the Thunderdome.
Geste Bianchi was undoubtedly the best player in the gym, earning a match-high 21 kills—hitting .450—six digs, and walking it off with an ace. It will be a night Bianchi, Owen Birg, Jack Walmer, Ben Coordt, Max Gordon, Sam Meister, and Patrick Kane will remember for a long, long time.
FROM HEAD COACH RICK MCLAUGHLIN”Very fun to watch our great senior Gauchos get a huge win in their last home match,” McLaughlin said. “They are so deserving. I’m very proud of that group.”
HOW IT HAPPENEDBefore the match, McLaughlin figured all six active seniors were deserving a full runway of playing time. Bianchi, Walmer, and Meister entered the starting lineup, while Birg, Coordt, and Gordon retained their spots from the night prior. They all played pretty much the entirety of the match. It worked, like a charm.
The veteran Gauchos started out hot to a 6-2 lead, but a 6-1 Hawai’i run to follow stopped the momentum. Down 9-8, Meister earned a kill before serving two aces in three points to give Santa Barbara the lead back—12-9. This time, they maintained it, as Coordt’s ace gave them a 20-15 advantage; up to that point, the Gauchos were hitting .500 without an attack error. The great Hawai’i squad would shrink their deficit to two, but kills from Bianchi and Meister clinched the opening set 25-22.
The Gauchos’ passionate and inspiring performance continued in the second set. Ben Pearson—the only non-senior starter for the Gauchos—earned his fifth kill to give Santa Barbara a 15-11 lead. The Gauchos had a perfect 100 percent sideout percentage into the media timeout. The Rainbow Warriors would turn it on, though, winning four out of five points to make it 20-19 Santa Barbara. A kill from Coordt prevented the visitors from tying it, and Bianchi’s 14th of the match made it set point. A Hawai’i attack error gave the Gauchos set two—25-22—and in turn, a two-set advantage. Santa Barbara hit .452 (16-2-31) in the set.
At 11-9 Hawai’i in the third, Walmer had 29 assists already in the match but smartly decided to get in on the action, dumping for his first and only kill. Tied at 13, Pearson got a favorable roll off the tape to give the Gauchos the lead with an ace. Shortly after, Meister elevated for a huge solo block before his kill tied things at 18-all. With Coordt serving the ensuing point, McLaughlin subbed 6-foot-10 freshman George Bruening into the game to get some more height at the net, the Gauchos now without a setter on the floor. Poetically, a Hawai’i overpass fell right to Bruening, and Santa Barbara was now up 19-18. The teams traded points until another freshman sub, Ethan Saint, entered to serve with the score tied 23-23. He threaded an ace perfectly down the line, and suddenly it was match point Gauchos. Hawai’i countered with two points, meaning it was now set point Rainbow Warriors, but Bianchi went off the block for a kill to extend the set, now 25-25. His 21st and final kill of the night brought match point number two, setting him up for a moment of magic at the service line. His powerful left-handed serve split the Hawai’i back row, clinching the match as the entire Gauchos bench ran onto the floor to celebrate the sweep.
BY THE NUMBERSGeste Bianchi’s dominant night was his 31st career match with double-digit kills. His six digs also led the team, with senior libero Max Gordon tallying five.Senior setter Jack Walmer was phenomenal, dishing 38 assists—good for nearly 13 per set—and facilitating the team’s .364 hitting percentage on the night. Speaking of senior leadership, it felt like Ben Coordt’s seven kills, three digs, block, and ace all came in a big moment.Middle blockers Owen Birg and Sam Meister tied for a team-leading three total blocks. Two of Meister’s were solos, and he also had seven kills on 13 swings.An electric Senior Night for the Gauchos, it was also a somewhat historic one. With the win, they snapped a 20-match losing streak to the Rainbow Warriors and achieved their first win over a top-five team this season.
UP NEXTWith the Gauchos win and UC San Diego and CSUN losses, all three teams finished tied for fourth in the Big West standings. By tiebreaker, the Gauchos will be the five seed for next week’s Big West Championship, facing four-seed UC San Diego. Taking place in Hawai’i’s Stan Sheriff Center, the first round matchup is set for Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. (PT). Fans not making the trip to Honolulu can watch the match on ESPN+ and follow along via live stats at ucsbgauchos.com/MVBLiveStats.
(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics).
