Feb. 19, 2005

LONG BEACH, Calif. - The seventh-ranked UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team upset fourth-ranked Long Beach State in four games, 3-1, at the Pyramid on Friday night. After dropping game one 30-22, the Gauchos rallied to take the next three, 30-22, 34-32, 30-20.

The win improved UCSB to 7-7 overall on the season and 7-4 in MPSF play, while the loss dropped LBSU to 9-5 and 7-4 in the conference.

Evan Patak led the Gauchos with 23 kills as Santa Barbara hit .446 for the evening off of the set of Bart Kowalski. Robert Tarr led the 49ers as he recorded 26 kills, four digs, and a block. Tyler Hildebrand notched 62 assists and directed the LBSU offense to a .381 attack percentage. The Gauchos severely out-blocked the 49ers 13-3.5, led by Theo Brunner and Jake Wiens' combined six blocks each. Michael Kennedy added five and Aaron Mansfield scooped up 11 digs to help the UCSB defense.

Long Beach State took control of the match early, with the 30-22 game one win. LBSU hit .533 (19-3-30) in the frame. LBSU unlocked a 7-7 tie with a 7-3 run to take a 14-10 lead after a Paul Lotman service ace. Three straight attack errors by the Gauchos ended the stanza.

UCSB tied the match at 1-1 after a 30-22 game two victory. The Gauchos did not allow the 49ers any room to trim the deficit the whole game, and went on an 8-2 run after the score was 22-20 to close out The Beach.

UCSB rallied from a 23-27 deficit in game three with a 34-32 win. The Gauchos fought off four game points courtesy of four attack errors by the 49ers. Two consecutive attack errors at the end of the game gave UCSB the game three triumph.

Santa Barbara controlled the entire fourth game with the 30-20 win, giving UCSB the upset victory heading into Saturday's showdown at UC San Diego at 7:00 p.m.