The UC Santa Barbara Men’s Volleyball team (7-10) was back in Rob Gymnasium for their last non-conference match of the season as they took on the Charleston Golden Eagles.

It only took three sets to decide the winner, and that was UC Santa Barbara as they took down Charleston 3-0 with scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19.

UC Santa Barbara started the first set hot with a kill from Owen Loncar. From there, the Gauchos went on a 3-0 run with Jack Walmer at the service line, where he added his first of four aces.

From there, the Gauchos kept moving forward, not allowing Charleston to come back. They went up 1-0 on the match with a score of 25-20.

The second set started evenly as neither team could pull ahead of the other. The score was tied 15 times before a service run from Ben Coordt gave UC Santa Barbara a five-point advantage.

This was all UC Santa Barbara needed to push ahead from Charleston as they wrapped up the second set 25-21.

The third set started similarly to the second as the score was tied at 6-6 before Geste Bianchi stepped up to the service line.

He racked up four service aces in six attempts, giving his team the 11-7 lead. From there, the Gauchos could not be stopped as they continued to build on their lead as they finished the third set with a score of 25-19.

Geste Bianchi led the Gauchos in kills yet again, racking up 11 while hitting at a .348 clip. Along with that, he was tied for the most aces on the team with four while adding on a block.

Ben Coordt was next on the team in kills as he finished the match with seven while hitting at a .375 clip with only one error on 16 swings.

Jack Walmer was a big part of the team’s efforts. He led the offense with 23 assists while adding on a team-high eight digs, four aces and three blocks.

The sophomores were dominant when it came to front-row defense. Both Ben Pearson and Owen Loncar finished the match three blocks each.  

The Gauchos’ defense did a phenomenal job. Jaden Glenn’s team-high eight digs, along with all of the stats mentioned above, held Charleston to just a .070 hitting percentage on the match.

The Gauchos will be back on the road, continuing with Big West play as they take on Long Beach State. First serve will be at 7 p.m. at Walter Pyramid.

For those who can’t make it to Long Beach, a live stream will be available through ESPN+.