The No. 14 UCI Men’s Volleyball team (2-10, 2-6) took on the No. 3 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (9-4, 4-3) at the Bren Events Center on April 2.
The Gauchos took an early 6-3 lead before UCI senior outside hitter Joel Schneidmiller layered a jump serve in the corner for an ace. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Doug Dahm played very well in his short time with the Anteaters, allowing UCI head coach David Kniffin to balance the floor alongside Schneidmiller and redshirt junior opposite/outside hitter Alexandre Nsakanda.
The Gauchos kept a two to three point lead throughout the duration of the first set. They kept their serves in and made sure to cut down on unforced errors. Kniffin’s timeout allowed the Anteaters to find a quick side out off of graduate student middle blocker Scott Stadick’s middle attack. Schneidmiller extended the run with another ace on the left side of the court, tying the score in the set at 15. The Gauchos found their footing to finish the job, winning the first set with a score of 25-20.
As the second set began, the Anteaters had to adjust to the Gauchos, who found great offensive success. The Gauchos made it hard on the Anteater attackers by keeping their blocks wide and consistently timing them almost perfectly. Schneidmiller adjusted for a kill, tying the score at four.
Kniffin turned to freshman outside hitter Francesco Sani for Dahm. The Gauchos found too much success on their initial attacks for each point, making it difficult for the Anteaters to keep pace.
However, the Anteaters continued to fight and prevented the Gauchos from getting into their stride until midway through the set. Kniffin called his second timeout, but it couldn’t restrain the Gauchos from breaking into an 18-10 lead. The Gauchos won the second set 25-14, taking a commanding lead in the match.
The third set spelled the same story for the Anteaters. The Gauchos were too effective early in the point, which netted them easy opportunities to score. Kniffin called a quick timeout as the Gauchos punched a 6-2 lead. The timeout came at an important time as the Anteaters closed the gap to just one point, 7-8.
The Gauchos maintained their advantage through their powerful offense and contagious defense, winning the set 25-18. The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos defeated the UCI Anteaters in straight sets (25-20, 25-14, 25-18).
The Anteaters will look to break their losing streak as they face off against the University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors at the Stan Sheriff Center on April 16.
Matthew Zeko is a Staff Writer. He can be reached at mzeko@uci.edu.
