University of California Santa Barbara loses to Pepperdine Waves – Volleyball news
The University of California Santa Barbara just recently competed against the Pepperdines in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match.
What followed was something that the spectators did not expect to see from the number six ranking Gauchos. UCSB suffered a defeat at the hands of the Pepperdines by losing three back-to-back sets. Not only did the Gauchos lose the match in a sweep, they
did so without putting up a fight worthy of them. Therefore, by the time the night was out, the Pepperdines had sealed the deal by winning the match at the following set scores: 29-27, 25-16 and 25-21.
With the recent loss that they suffered against the number 13th ranked Pepperdines, the Gauchos have now registered a total number of 13 losses overall this season. As opposed to their defeats, UCSB has been able to tally a total number of 14 victories in
this season so far. If the MPSF record of the Gauchos is seen, then the amount of victories that they have been able to secure has reached a figure of 11. In contrast to this, the number of times that USCB has lost an MPSF match is 10.
The start of the first set of the match took place with both the Gauchos and the Pepperdines trying hard to take dominance of the court. Towards the middle of the first set of the game, the Gauchos had the lead at 19-18.
From then on, the intensity of the match increased as both the teams had a fair chance of winning the set. The scoreboard showed a tie at 25-25 but the Waves were able to push through and take the first set of the match at 29-27.
After losing the first set of the game, the Gauchos seemed to have lost heart and only put in an average effort in the second set.
As a result, the Pepperdines were able to dominate the Gauchos quickly enough. Bagging the second set of the game was done in a short period of time by the Waves who claimed it for their own at 25-16.
After losing the first two sets of the game, the pressure to make a win increased on the Gauchos. Consequently, they were able to step up their game and give some competition.
However, the effort came in too late and the Pepperdines were in top form. Therefore, the Waves did not let the third set of the match slip out of their hands and won it at 25-21.
“We were not competitive any time during the match tonight,” Head Coach Rick McLaughlin of the Gauchos said. “It’s a strange thing, sometimes we’re competitive and we play well, and other times we’re not. We need to figure that out before the playoffs or
we’re in trouble.”
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