UC Santa Cruz opened the 2021 season with a pair of victories, beating Lakeland University 3-1 in the afternoon before defeating Wisconsin Lutheran 3-0 in the evening.

In the first match, UCSC quickly took set one 25-14, hitting .421 with 11 kills. The Muskies (2-8) took a close second set, closing on a 7-2 run to win set two.

The last two sets however saw UCSC find their groove, hitting a combined .259 compared to the Muskies' .082 to grab their first victory of the season. 

Rowdy Lennon had 12 kills to lead UCSC, while sophomore Zachary Thompson added 10 while hitting .500 on 18 swings. Mohan Duvvuri had 33 assists in his first match as a Banana Slug, while fellow freshman Ethan Makishima had three of UCSC's nine service aces in his college debut. Overall, UCSC had 45 kills while hitting .259 against Lakeland.

After a trip down Interstate-43, UCSC took on Wisconsin Lutheran in their second match. Using an entirely new starting lineup, the Banana Slugs made quick work of the Warriors, hitting .414 in the 25-8, 25-7, 25-13 sweep. UCSC outserved the Warriors 9-0 in aces, and held WLC to -.212 and just seven kills for the entire match.

Freshman Colby Hurdle had eight kills on 11 attempts in his Banana Slug debut. Cinjun Coe, Ian Pizzuti and Quinn Barrett had six kills each, with Coe serving four service aces. Senior Sam Wittert had 28 assists, which tied him with Derek Newcomer ('00) for fourth on the school's career chart with 1,535.

Overall, all eighteen Banana Slug athletes on the trip played.

The Banana Slugs continue their long strange trip with a match at Concordia-Wisconsin on Friday at 5pm Pacific time.