The No. 20 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team (7-15) made the trip to Honolulu for their first of two matches against the No. 5 University of Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors.
It was a close battle between these two Big West teams, but by the end of the match, it was Hawai’i who came out on top as they swept the Gauchos with scores of 25-23, 25-21 and 26-24.
The Gauchos came out strong, scoring the very first point of the match. The teams sparred with one another from there as neither team could pull ahead by more than two points before the media timeout.
Once both teams returned to the court, the Rainbow Warriors started to make their move. They secured their biggest lead of the first set with three points, which they kept all the way until set point.
That’s when UC Santa Barbara made their move. Hitting errors by the Warriors and a kill from Geste Bianchi gave the Gauchos a three-point run that kept the Blue and Gold in this first set.
However, the Rainbow Warriors recovered quickly to secure the final point of the first set with a score of 25-23.
Just like the first, the Gauchos came out strong to start the second set. The score was tied four times before the Rainbow Warriors gained their two-point lead.
Once they had that lead, they weren’t letting it go. By the time the second set ended, Hawai’i grew the lead to four as the Gauchos dropped the second set 21-25.
Despite the slow start, UC Santa Barbara came out ready to play. Hawai’i started this set on top, but not without the Gauchos rallying back.
But every time UC Santa Barbara would get within one, the Rainbow Warriors would grab another lead. However, the Gauchos weren’t letting this match go without a fight as they took this set into extra points.
Even though they put it all on the line, the Rainbow Warriors proved to be too much as UC Santa Barbara dropped the third and final set with a score of 24-26.
Geste Bianchi led all players on the court yet again on offense. He showed the Rainbow Warriors why he is one of the best attackers in the country as he finished the night with 17 kills. Not only that, but he also added on an ace and four digs.
Jack Walmer returned to the University of Hawai’i for the first time since he transferred to UC Santa Barbara, having a great night for the Gauchos.
He led the offense as the team’s primary setter with 34 assists. He also led the team’s back row defensive efforts as he tallied seven digs. As if that wasn’t enough he also contributed a team-high two aces.
Owen Loncar came in as a sub during the third set and didn’t disappoint from the service line, racking up two aces.
The Gauchos will return to Simplifi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center tomorrow night, March 30 for a rematch against the Rainbow Warriors. First serve will be at 10 p.m. PT in Honolulu with a live stream available through ESPN+.