Colossally important match tonight. I can’t say for certain, but I’m pretty sure that a Gaucho win would clinch them an MPSF tournament berth. Hawaii aren’t mathematically eliminated even with a loss, but they would have to win out and have Stanford or Northridge lose out (as both of those teams would hold any tiebreaker over the Warriors) in order to sneak in. So the stakes are quite high indeed.
Andrew Kocur got the start for the Gauchos tonight, after playing sets 2 through 4 last night. UCSB’s putative starter, Jonah Seif, didn’t even dress for the match tonight. Ryan Thompson, who provided a nice spark late in the match up the middle for UCSB, also got the start tonight. The UH boys were nothing if not loose as they came out of the tunnel, holding the squad’s lone senior Matthew Cheape (it’s Senior Night at the Stan Sheriff) on their shoulders and each starter goofing around a little as he came in. You can’t be too tight, but there’s such a thing as too loose also.
It was an inauspicious start for Hawaii, as Warrior errors accounted for the first 3 points to prop UCSB up on top. In amidst a few sideouts, further errors got the Gauchos their first 6 points, and a 4-point lead at 6-2. Johann Timmer remained in the starting lineup for this match, though to my satisfaction it was indeed Nick West rather than Davis Holt rotating in for him. Interestingly, Harrison Phelps entered the match as the defensive libero, donning black tonight instead of Kolby Kanetake. Phelps has been in a few matches, even doing front-row rotations when not in libero colors at least once, but as well as Kanetake played last night it’s kind of an interesting choice. Hawaii came up with a double block to make it back within two points at 6-4 before Miles Evans‘ left-side kill finally got the Gauchos their first point on their own merits.
On the 10-7 rally, Hawaii were called for a violation with Joby Ramos being whistled as a back-row setter. The weird part is the whistle came a couple of volleys after the fault actually occurred. It appeared to be a point for Hawaii, but the point instead went to the Gauchos, putting them ahead 4. The Warriors got the point back on West’s tricky serve, and then Hawaii nearly came back to within a point on the next rally. Despite everyone saying “Out!” on UCSB’s hit, JP Marks nonetheless dug the ball, and the Gauchos took the point. Further Warrior errors helped the Gauchos reach 15 first at 15-9 at the media timeout. The run continued out of the timeout, a net fault putting UCSB up eight at 17-9 and Hawaii’s first charged timeout
The Warriors got the sideout on a service error after the timeout, but the deficit went on unimpeded for a while. Coach Charlie Wade worked in Max Wechsung and Jace Olsen as subs, and on Olsen’s serve the Warriors ran from 21-13 back to 21-18 before Evan Licht finally got them the sideout from the left side. But Hawaii got the sideout right back, rotating West to the service line. That was interesting, because this would have been Timmer’s spot to come back in if here were going to. But West stayed in the match, and the run continued barely impeded, with the Warriors drawing back to within a point at 22-21. Jake Staahl, in for Ryan Anderson, sided UCSB out at 23-21 with the middle attack. Hawaii expended their last timeout at 24-21, but Miles Evans converted it with his 5th kill of the set.
West started set 2 for the Warriors, as did Olsen and Ramos. Interesting choices. Hawaii again made some really kind of cringe-inducing mental mistakes early in set 2, giving UCSB the advantage at 4-2. Hawaii drew back even after a stretch of sideouts with a right-side double block from Sedore and Taylor Averill. With Sedore on service, Averill and Siki Zarkovic came up with another block to put Hawaii up for the first time in the set at 10-9. At 10-all, the UCSB serve elicited an overpass, and then one of the most unlikely things of the entire MPSF season happened — UCSB’s big stud blocker Dylan Davis got solo roof’d….by little Joby Ramos. Cool play, indeed. And then he did it again, putting Hawaii up 13-11. UCSB responded with a 4-1 run, though, to reach 15 first.
It just continued after the media timeout, with Hawaii at last burning a charged timeout at 18-14 after Zarkovic was whistled for a back-row attack. Hawaii got the sideout after the timeout, but it didn’t much matter. Timmer came in to serve for West at 20-16 and seemed to uncork a good one, but UCSB’s execution was just about perfect. Hawaii also turned back to Wechsung and Phelps as replacements for the pretty ineffective Ramos and Cheape, but it was all re-arranging the deck chairs. Hawaii called their last timeout at 24-19, but UCSB still took the set 25-20.
Through two sets, offensive execution really told the story. Hawaii were 19/12/51 for just .137. Along with a low percentage, that’s a lot of dug swings. UCSB’s 30/10/54 was a far higher efficiency (.370), and featured many many more terminating swings.
Early on in set 3, Miles Evans landed awkwardly on a block attempt and turned his ankle. His replacement was Grant Gosswiller, a sometimes serving specialist who is actually listed at libero. His kill to make it 3-1 was his first of the season. Hawaii started this set was an odd combination, as Ramos came back in at setter, and Olsen started the set as well, but so did JP Marks. That meant Sedore was the odd man out. He couldn’t really complain, with how poorly his hitting night was going, but that’s an odd move. He’s been the backbone of the offense for the last several weeks.
It started off as a lot more of the same in set 3 for Hawaii. Their execution just wasn’t there. UCSB were volleying circles around them. The Gauchos went ahead three for the first time at 7-4, and four for the first time at 10-6 on their sixth block of the match to knot Hawaii in that category (the lone category where they had somewhat been out-performing UCSB). But from 10-6, the Warriors ran it back to 10-all, on the serve of Ramos believe it or not (I say that only because he’s an average server compared to several well-above average serving teammates), with some Gaucho mistakes getting them there. It was one of the firs times all night UCSB didn’t look to be in complete control. They called time at 10-all. After a string of sideouts, UCSB reached 15 first following back-to-back errors for Marks, one serving and one hitting. They edged ahead further to Hawaii’s charged timeout at 18-15, with Dylan Davis on serve, who made a big run earlier. His next serve after the timeout flew long, but it so didn’t matter.
#8 UCSB d. #12 Hawaii (25-21, 25-20, 25-19)
That was just a terrible match (for the side to whom I’m admittedly partisan). There’s no way of getting around it. Just an awful match. Honestly, it feels like a punch to the gut.
The Gauchos basically did nothing wrong. They hit .349 to just .132 for the Warriors. The passing was just out of this world. Hawaii had no aces and maybe two serves all night that seemed to get them out of system. UCSB had only one ace, but Hawaii hardly ever looked in system on their side of the net. Sorry to say, but a lot of that is on the head of the beloved senior libero Matthew Cheape. I’m not sure why, when they do the mix-and-match, that he’s in there for passing but not defense, because he seems a lot better at defense. (Which is kind of a polite way of saying his passing was… not very good)
I should have been using Evan Licht’s name a lot more as the rundown went on, as he finished with 18 kills on .433 hitting. Three-set match, those are fantastic numbers. Austin Kingi added 9 kills at a .353 clip. And Grant Gosswiller’s 4/1/5 night out of bleedin’ nowhere is very impressive.
Hawaii’s pins were just terrible tonight (I hate to say it so bluntly, but it would be dishonest not to). Some of that’s got to be on the setting. Sedore and Marks both hit minus, Zarkovic hit .050, and it was actually Olsen who had the best night, at 6/2/13 for .308. That’s….reasonably okay, but it can’t be the standard-bearer for your offense. The middles combined to go 8/1/17, which is an okay efficiency but you want more terminating swings, better or worse, than that from the middle attack.
This all but eliminates Hawaii from playoff contention. The only scenario they have left is sweeping UCSD in two weeks (they have no counting matches next week, just an alumni match) coupled with either Stanford or CSUN losing out. Doesn’t look too likely. UCSB are looking pretty secure in their grasp on a playoff berth.
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