MEQUON, WISCONSIN - UC Santa Cruz rallied after dropping a set to surge past host Concordia-Wisconsin 3-1 (18-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-20) on Friday evening.

The Banana Slugs improve to 3-0 on the season.

 The match started out with both teams feeling each other out. However, the Falcons (4-7) closed out the first set with a 7-2 run to take a 1-0 lead, helped by three UCSC attack errors.

That was a wakeup call for the road warrior Banana Slugs. After a back-and-forth run that left set two tied at 11, UCSC ran off a 5-0 run for a 16-11 lead that was punctuated by a combined block from Tennessee Fulks and Colby Hurdle and a kill from both of them. UCSC took the set and tied the match while holding the Falcons to -.053 hitting in the set.

In set three, UCSC took control with an 10-4 run that made it 13-7. Aaron Fox had three straight kills that forced Concordia to take a timeout, and the Banana Slugs played their best volleyball of the match hitting .625.

Set four saw the hosts stake a 6-4 lead before four straight UCSC points gave the Banana Slugs the lead, with Rowdy Lennon's kill completing the rally and forcing another Concordia timeout. The back-and-forth set saw the Falcons hold off three match points before Fulks finished with a massive kill from the left to secure UCSC's victory.

Fox had a team-high 14 kills to lead the Banana Slugs,and Fulks had 13. Lennon had 12 and Hurdle finished with 10 kills to go with his team-high two service aces. Maxwell Mednick added nine digs. Senior Sam Wittert had 47 assists and eight digs. Overall, UCSC outhit Concordia .273 to .125, with 57 kills against the Falcons' 30.

The road-trip continues Saturday with the Banana Slugs facing fellow independent Maranatha Baptist in a double-header starting at 11:00 am Pacific.