Middles Donovan Todorov and Brandon Hicks combined for 13 blocks and Haotian Xix had 15 kills to lead the UCSB men’s volleyball team to a five-set win at fourth-ranked Pepperdine on Friday.
The Gauchos prevailed 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 21-24, 15-7, handing Pepperdine its first loss.
UCSB (2-3) was a perfect 7 of 7 on sideouts in the fifth set and hit .778. The Gauchos had .238 hitting percentage for the match.
Blocking was key for UCSB. The team had 28 for the match, led by Todorov’s nine blocks, Xia had seven, including a solo, and Hicks added four.
The Gauchos had 16 total team blocks compared to 13.5 for Pepperdine.
The Gauchos also took advantage of 29 Pepperdine service errors.
The Waves (3-1) were led by Spencer Wickens with 17 kills and Jaylen Jasper with 11.