Jan. 5, 2007
Santa Barbara, Calif. - For the second straight contest this week, senior opposite hitter Evan Patak posted a match-high 18 kills to lead the No. 6 UC Santa Barbara men's volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over No. 12 USC in the opening round of the 43rd Annual Elephant Bar Collegiate Invitational Friday at Robertson Gymnasium. The Gauchos will play No. 3 UCLA, which defeated No. 14 Pacific 3-1, at 7 p.m.
Scores of the match went 30-24, 30-26, and 30-19 as UCSB (1-0) came back from a nine-point deficit in the second game to win. USC fell to 0-1 as it was the regular season opener for both squads.
Patak, who grounded 18 kills in a 3-0 exhibition victory over Thompson Rivers Tuesday, also added three blocks and hit .361 for the match. Senior outside hitter Bryan Berman had a match-high 12 digs, while senior middle blocker David Kennedy totaled five blocks. Senior setter Bart Kowalski racked up 43 assists. As a team, UCSB hit .400, which included swinging at a .636 clip in the third game.
The Trojans were led by Juan Figueroa, who had five digs to go along with his team-high 10 kills. Luke Morris had a team-best eight digs. USC hit just .156 in the match. The Trojans will take on Pacific at 7 p.m. in the consolation bracket.
In the other two first round matches, No. 1 UC Irvine blanked Stanford 3-0 and No. 9 Cal State Northridge edged No. 10 Long Beach State 3-2.
Tournament action concludes Saturday with matches at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. All of Saturday's contests will be held in Robertson Gymnasium.
First Round Scores:
#1 UC Irvine (2-0) def. Stanford (0-1), 3-0 (30-23, 30-21, 30-23)
#9 Cal State Northridge (1-0) def. #10 Long Beach State (0-1), 3-2 (39-37, 27-30, 31-29, 28-30, 15-12)
#6 UC Santa Barbara (1-0) def. #12 USC (0-1), 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-19)
#3 UCLA (1-0) def. #14 Pacific (0-1), 3-1 (30-27, 28-30, 30-27, 30-24)
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Second Round Match-ups (Friday, January 5, 7 p.m.)
#1 UC Irvine vs. #9 Cal State Northridge, court 2 (winners bracket)
#3 UCLA vs. #6 UC Santa Barbara, court 4 (winners bracket)
#10 Long Beach State vs. Stanford, court 1 (consolation bracket)
#12 USC vs. #14 Pacific, court 3 (consolation bracket)
Courts 1, 2, and 3 are located at the Thunderdome. Court 4 is located at Robertson Gymnasium.
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