LOS ANGELES – For its first road match of the season, No. 11 UC Santa Barbara had a tough task in heading to Pauley Pavilion Wednesday to take on second-ranked UCLA in a match televised by the Pac-12 Network. Despite some high moments and strong runs of play, the Gauchos ended up dropping the match 3-0, 25-17, 25-20, 25-20.
The Bruins improved to 7-1 overall, with a perfect 5-0 mark in MPSF play. The Gauchos dropped to 6-2, 3-2 and had a three-match winning streak snapped
UCSB was led on offense by redshirt senior outside hitter Jacob Delson, who had a match-high 13 kills. However, the Gauchos hit just .195 as a team for the night and nobody besides Delson had more than six kills.
UCLA meanwhile hit .344 and out-aced UCSB 7-2 from the service line. Outside hitter Jake Arnitz and middle blocker Daenan Gyimah were the top offensive performers for the Bruins, notching 10 and eight kills, respectively.
UCSB is next in action on Friday night at the Thunderdome in a re-match against the Bruins. The Gauchos are 6-1 this season at home. First serve on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.