2022 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball team

The 2022 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball team represented University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2022 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Gauchos, led by fourteenth year head coach Rick McLaughlin, split their home games between Robertson Gymnasium and The Thunderdome. The Gauchos competed as members of the Big West Conference and were picked as one of two teams to finish fourth in the Big West preseason poll.^[1]

2022 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	19–9 (6–4 Big West)
Head coach	Rick McLaughlin (14th season)
Assistant coaches	Blaine Nielsen (3rd season) Jonah Seif (3rd season)
Home arena	Robertson Gymnasium The Thunderdome
Seasons ← 2021 2023 →

2022 Big West Conference men's volleyball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Long Beach State  ‍†‍‍y	8	–	2		.800			21	–	6		.778
No. 1 Hawai'i  ‍‍‡‍y	7	–	3		.700			27	–	5		.844
No. 8 UC Santa Barbara  ‍‍‍	6	–	4		.600			19	–	9		.679
No. 10 UC San Diego  ‍‍‍	5	–	5		.500			13	–	11		.542
No. 13 UC Irvine  ‍‍‍	3	–	7		.300			10	–	15		.400
CSUN  ‍‍‍	1	–	9		.100			6	–	15		.286
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2022 Big West Tournament champion y- Invited to the NCAA volleyball tournament As of November 12, 2024 Rankings from AVCA

Roster

2022 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos roster[2]
	Defensive specialist/libero 1 Jaden Glenn - Sophomore 8 Ryan Pecsok - Sophomore 19 Max Gordon - Freshman Middle blockers 6 Donovan Todorov - Sophomore 10 Brandon Hicks - Junior 15 Dain Johnson - Sophomore 20 Reece Francke - Sophomore 24 Rhys Tracy - Sophomore		Outside hitters 3 Owen Birg - Freshman 5 Ben Coordt - Freshman 9 Ryan Wilcox - Junior 12 Dayne Chalmers - Sophomore 13 Ethan Young - Sophomore 14 Andrew Reavis - Sophomore 17 Andrew McSweeney - Sophomore 19 Max Gordon - Freshman 21 Nick Amoruso - Sophomore 22 Max Cajuste - Sophomore 23 Sam Collins - Sophomore 25 Dominic Lang - Sophomore 30 Sam Meister - Freshman		Opposite hitters 2 Geste Bianchi - Freshman 3 Owen Birg - Freshman 4 Rees Barnett - Sophomore 7 Haotian Xia - Junior 21 Nick Amoruso - Sophomore 30 Sam Meister - Freshman 31 Spencer Olivier - Junior Setters 1 Jaden Glenn - Sophomore 16 Conor Dunn - Sophomore 18 Patrick Paragas - Sophomore 28 Greg Baglio - Freshman

Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming/Radio information:

ESPN+ will carry most home and all conference road games. All other road broadcasts will be carried by the schools respective streaming partner.

Date time	Opponent	Rank	Arena city (tournament)	Television	Score	Attendance	Record (Big West Record)
1/6 3 p.m.	USC	#11	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)	ESPN+	L 2–3 (25–19, 22–25, 25–17, 23–25, 8–15)[3]	1	0–1
1/7 3 p.m.	USC	#11	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)	ESPN+	L 1–3 (25–20, 17–25, 18–25, 22–25) [4]	1	0–2
1/8 3 p.m.	#10 UC San Diego	#11	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA		Cancelled- COVID-19
1/11 3 p.m.	Saint Xavier		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–20, 25–18, 25–17)	1	1–2
1/19 5 p.m.	Princeton		The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	L 1–3 (25–22, 18–25, 29–31, 13–25)[5]	1	1–3
1/21 5:30 p.m.	@ #4 Pepperdine		Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA	WaveCasts	W 3–2 (24–26, 25–21, 25–22, 21–25, 15–7)[6]	825	2–3
1/28 6 p.m.	#4 Penn State		The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA (Battle of the Bigs)	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–13, 25–21, 25–21)[7]	111	3–3
1/29 7 p.m.	#9 Ohio State		The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA (Battle of the Bigs)	ESPN+	W 3–1 (25–19, 25–18, 26–28, 25–17)	176	4–3
2/4 5 p.m.	#2 Pepperdine	#11	The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	W 3–1 (26–24, 25–19, 23–25, 25–15)	125	5–3
2/9 7 p.m.	@ #7 USC	#8	Galen Center Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	L 0–3 (20–25, 22–25, 23–25)[8]	303	5–4
2/11 7 p.m.	@ #9 Grand Canyon	#8	GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ	ESPN+	W 3–2 (22–25, 25–23, 25–21, 14–25, 20–18)[9]	692	6–4
2/12 7 p.m.	@ #9 Grand Canyon	#8	GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ	ESPN+	W 3–2 (21–25, 25–12, 25–23, 20–25, 15–12)[10]	604	7–4
2/18 7 p.m.	#13 BYU	#6	The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–21, 25–18, 25–23)[11]	100	8–4
2/19 7 p.m.	#13 BYU	#6	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA		W 3–1 (25–22, 28–26, 26–28, 26–24) [12]	125	9–4
2/24 7 p.m.	#11 UC San Diego*	#6	The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	W 3–1 (25–20, 23–25, 25–19, 25–21)[13]	272	10–4 (1–0)
3/3 7 p.m.	Cal Lutheran	#5	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA	UCSB SN on Stretch	W 3–0 (25–20, 25–17, 25–10)	85	11–4
3/4 7 p.m.	LIU	#5	Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA	UCSB SN on Stretch	W 3–0 (25–13, 25–22, 25–13)	100	12–4
3/10 7 p.m.	CSUN*	#5	The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–18, 25–17, 25–17)	212	13–4 (2–0)
3/11 7 p.m.	@ CSUN*	#5	Matadome Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–20, 25–17, 25–23)	286	14–4 (3–0)
3/25 7 p.m.	#3 Long Beach State*	#6	The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	L 1–3 (25–22, 19–25, 16–25, 19–25)	1,386	14–5 (3–1)
3/26 7 p.m.	@ #3 Long Beach State*	#6	Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA	ESPN+	L 0–3 (21–25, 24–26, 22–25)	342	14–6 (3–2)
3/30 7 p.m.	@ #14 UC Irvine*	#6	Bren Events Center Irvine, CA	ESPN+	W 3–1 (25–19, 25–18, 26–28, 25–22)	558	15–6 (4–2)
4/1 7 p.m.	#14 UC Irvine*	#6	The Thunderdome Isla Vista, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (26–24, 25–19, 25–20)	100	16–6 (5–2)
4/8 10 p.m.	@ #4 Hawai'i*	#5	Stan Sheriff Center Manoa, HI	ESPN+	L 0–3 (16–25, 23–25, 26–28)	4,960	16–7 (5–3)
4/9 10 p.m.	@ #4 Hawai'i*	#5	Stan Sheriff Center Manoa, HI	ESPN+	L 2–3 (25–19, 20–25, 26–24, 18–25, 10–15)	6,744	16–8 (5–4)
4/15 7 p.m.	@ Concordia Irvine	#6	CU Arena Irvine, CA	EagleEye	W 3–0 (25–23, 25–22, 25–21)	77	17–8
4/16 7 p.m.	@ #9 UC San Diego*	#6	RIMAC La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3–1 (25–22, 18–25, 25–22, 25–14)	1,069	18–8 (6–4)
4/21 9 p.m.	vs. CSUN (6)	#6 (3)	Stan Sheriff Center Manoa, HI (Big West 1st Round)	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–19, 26–24, 26–24)	3,521	19–8
4/22 9 p.m.	@ #4 Hawai'i (2)	#6 (3)	Stan Sheriff Center Manoa, HI (Big West Semifinal)	ESPN+	L 0–3 (18–25, 24–26, 14–25)	5,238	19–9

*-Indicates conference match.

Times listed are Pacific Time Zone.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AVCA Coaches	11[14]	RV[15]	RV[16]	RV[17]	11[18]	8[19]	6[20]	6[21]	5	5	5	5	6	6	5	6	6	6
Off the Block Media	Not released	RV[22]	—[23]	—[24]	9[25]	8[26]	7[27]	6[28]	6	4	7	7	6	7	7	7	^	8

^The Media did not release a Pre-season or Post-Conference Tournament poll.

References

1. "Long Beach, Hawai'i tie for first place in Big West preseason poll". Off the Block. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
2. "2022 UC Santa Barbara Men's Volleyball Roster". ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
3. "Gauchos volleyball drop season opener to USC in modified UCSB Asics Invitational". KEYT. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
4. "USC defeats UCSB men's volleyball team". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
5. "Princeton beats UCSB in men's volleyball". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
6. "Gauchos stun Pepperdine in five-set thriller". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
7. "UCSB downs Penn State in men's volleyball". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
8. "USC defeats UCSB men's volleyball team in three sets". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
9. "UCSB defeats Grand Canyon in men's volleyball". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
10. "UCSB men's volleyball team defeats Grand Canyon". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
11. "UCSB men's volleyball team defeats BYU in three sets". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
12. "UCSB men's volleyball team defeats BYU". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
13. "Gauchos defeat UC San Diego in men's volleyball". Santa Barbara News-Press. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
14. "AVCA Preseason Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
15. "AVCA Week 1 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
16. "AVCA Week 2 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
17. "AVCA Week 3 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved January 24, 2022.
18. "AVCA Week 4 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
19. "AVCA Week 5 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
20. "AVCA Week 6 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
21. "AVCA Week 7 Rankings". AVCA. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
22. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved January 11, 2022.
23. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
24. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
25. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
26. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
27. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
28. "Off the Block releases new college men's volleyball national media poll". Off the Block. Retrieved February 22, 2022.