IRVINE, Calif. – The CUI men's volleyball team put up a fight on Thursday against UC Santa Barbara as they went to five sets and ultimately falling just short with scores 24-26, 25-17, 25-22, and 11-15.
 
Setter Yotam Briger had an impressive 47 assists and eight digs. Two liberos were played tonight with Johnny Anselmo collecting eight digs and Jacob Reilly with two.
 
Outside hitters Makua Marumoto and Ties Cornelissen both led the Golden Eagles on the night with 15 kills a-piece. Opposite Christian Galoppo contributed on the offense with six kills and had seven digs throughout the match.
 
Middle Maxwell McCullough was unstoppable at the net as he went 10-for-16 while putting up five blocks. Clement Osahon Jr. had four kills and blocks while serving up an ace for the Green and Gold.
 
The Gauchos came out with a lead in the beginning of the first set and never allowed CUI back in. The second and third set switched in favor of the Golden Eagles as attacking errors from UCSB and consecutive kills from Marumoto kept the momentum going. The Gauchos came back in the fourth and were able to force a fifth deciding set.
 
The fifth set was a battle between the two as a service error from UCSB gave the edge over to CUI to switch sides at 8-7. The Gauchos went on a four point run to break away with their lead by just two points which was just enough to close out the match by a close 15-11 score.
 
The Golden Eagles take on No.10 Pepperdine for an MPSF match-up in the CU Arena on Saturday Mar. 2 with a 7 p.m. start time.
 
To see the full CUI men's volleyball schedule click HERE.