IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team finished their season Thursday night with a 3-0 loss to UC San Diego in the first round of the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship.
After defeating the Tritons 3-2 two times this season, UCSD returned the favor and will move on to the second round to play No. 1 Hawai’i.
“We just didn’t fight like we should have. These guys know, we talked about it,” UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin said. “They’re a young group and they really improved throughout the year. I mean, I told them, watching videos just the last few days, starting at the beginning of the year – it was shocking. About how much they’ve improved.
“But we have to improve on the mental toughness side. We have to go through nights like this and realize that we’re not going to do this ever again.”
The first set leaned heavily toward UC San Diego to start, as the Tritons established a conspicuous lead. The Gauchos overcame the deficit but still finished behind at 25-19. Ethan Saint was off to the races as he dealt a set-high of five kills.
The Gauchos got up 4-0 to start the second, and Saint continued on his streak to finish the first two with a match-high of 11 kills. Though Santa Barbara led through 13-12, the Tritons tied at 13-13.
It stayed knotted for several points, but the Gauchos inched towards a small lead at 21-19. UC San Diego stayed in it, however, and made six of the next seven points to claim the set 25-22.
“I think it’s been a long road. Came a long way from the beginning of the year, working pretty hard, and we did show up at times,” Saint said.
“But obviously, tonight, we didn’t get what we wanted, but it’s definitely been a lot of progress. So I’m looking forward to next year, for sure.”
UCSD proceeded to win the third and final set 25-22. It was tight during the beginning of the set, tied through 8-8. The Tritons pulled ahead several points at 16-12, but UC Santa Barbara made six points in a row to take a 17-16 lead. UCSD equalized, then chugged ahead to take the rest of the set.
Saint tied the match-high with 13 kills while also picking up eight digs. He also led the team in block assists with four. Cole Schobel led in digs with nine and put up 25 assists.
Josh Aruya hit .385 from six kills and had three block assists. George Bruening picked up two aces and nine kills while Riggs Guy made 19 service receptions.
“We’ve gotten a lot better since we started our season,” Guy said. “So, obviously, this game isn’t how our season should be defined. And for all of us, we got a lot better throughout this year, and we put it in hours in practice.
“Unfortunately, it just didn’t go our way tonight, but I’m super proud of the guys. And I think everyone is excited for next year and we know how good we can be.”