No. 3 UC Santa Barbara men’s volleyball clinched second place in the Big West and secured a first-round bye in next week’s Big West tournament with another 3-0 sweep of No. 13 UC San Diego on Saturday night. The scores were 25-23, 25-16, 25-18.
The Gauchos end the regular season with a 13-4 overall record and 7-3 in the Big West while the Tritons end at 3-12 and 3-7.
UCSB made the most of every offensive opportunity in its final night at Robertson Gym, as the team committed only six attacking errors and finished the night with a .397 hitting percentage. The hosts also found seven total blocks at the net, five of which saw contributions from Keenan Sanders as he tied his season-high in block assists.
Senior and Santa Barbara High alum Henry Hancock erupted for a match-best and career-high 11 kills on a .474 percentate. He also scooped up six digs. Behind him was Ryan Wilcox who had 10 kills and hit .474. Wilcox led all players with nine digs.
UC Santa Barbara will ride its eight-match win streak into the Big West Tournament in Hawaii.