Behind 15 kills from senior outside hitter Jacob Delson and 13 more from sophomore opposite Corey Chavers, No. 12 UC Santa Barbara closed out a seven-match homestand on a high note with a three-set sweep of visiting Cal Baptist on Friday night at Rob Gym, 25-12, 25-22, 25-16.
It was the third straight victory and sixth in the last seven games for the Gauchos (6-1, 3-1 MPSF), who outhit the Lancers by almost 300 points, .359 to .091.
“Any time you get a little winning streak like this going in our conference, that’s a good thing,” said UCSB head coach Rick McLaughlin. “I thought our passing was the difference tonight, and Delson had another strong game to lead us. He’s been playing great every night.”
Against a strong-serving team, the key for UCSB was effective passing. Due in part to the work of the serve receive trio of Delson and the Boehle brothers (Parker and Hayden), the Gauchos held Cal Baptist to just one ace on the night and were able to stay in system most of the night.
Freshman setter Casey McGarry did not squander the consistent passing, totaling 27 assists through two-plus games of action and running the offense without a single hitting error until the second set.
On the receiving end of most of McGarry’s sets was Delson, who hit an outstanding .522 on the night, his third over-.500 performance of the young season. He was especially effective in the second as the Gauchos had to claw back from an early 4-0 deficit.