LA JOLLA — In a hard-fought Big West match, the UCSB men surrendered a 2-1 lead to fall to UC San Diego 3-2 on set scores of 5-20, 20-25, 19-25, 25-14, 15-13.
Nick Amoruso led the Gauchos with 21 kills, hitting a .326 clip and adding four blocks. Ryan Wilcox added 17 kills and two aces, and Jack Walmer added a double-double with 43 assists and a team-high 10 digs.
The teams exchanged wins in the first two close sets, with first UCD and then UCSB pulling away for 25-20 wins. In the first set, Amoruso led both teams with a .636 hitting percentage and seven kills on 11 attempts, in a losing effort.
The Gauchos looked to be taking the momentum in the third set, hitting a team .636 percent and posting a 25-19 win.
From there the Tritons rallied with their best offensive sets in the match in the fourth and fifth as their defense kept the Gauchos at bay, prevailing 25-14 and 15-13.
The loss put UCSB at 1-7 in Big West play and 5-16 overall, while UC San Diego is 2-6 and 8-14.
The Gauchos play their final series of the regular season against Cal State Northridge, on Friday, April 14 at Northridge and Saturday April 15 at Rob Gym for Senior Night. Game time for that home match 7 p.m.