Thirteenth-ranked UC Santa Cruz men's volleyball opened their road trip as they traveled to Wisconsin to take on Lakeland University and Concordia University. The Banana Slugs swept the Muskies in the morning match and won 3-1 over the Falcons in the evening match.
 
Match #1 – at Lakeland
The Banana Slugs got the first two points of the first set with kills by Kyle Ownbey and Nico Espinoza. The Banana Slugs stayed in the lead for the majority of the set with kills from Riley Norman, Andrew Pak, Ethan Makishima, and Espinoza. The Banana Slugs won the first set 25-19 after an attack error by the Muskies. 
 
In the second set, Ownbey and Norman helped the Banana Slugs gain the lead with a double block to make the score 2-1. It was a close set with the teams trading points back and forth. The Banana Slugs got five consecutive points with a kill by Pak and attack errors by the Muskies. The second set ended with score of 25-18 after a kill by Makishima. 
 
The third set started strong for the Banana Slugs with back-to-back kills by Ownbey to make the score 2-0 and the Banana Slugs would never trail as they won the third set 25-19.
 
Norman had team-highs of 11 kills on 22 total attacks, seven digs and three aces. Ownbey had four assisted blocks. The Banana Slug defense held Lakeland to a season-best -0.130 hitting.
 
Match #2 – at Concordia (WI)
The first set started with five consecutive points by the Banana Slugs including kills by Kyle Ownbey, Leo Tuncer, and Nico Espinoza. The rest of the set was played at a back-and-forth pace. With the match tied at 12-12, Tuncer got an assisted block that gave the Banana Slugs the lead for good at 13-12. The Banana Slugs won the first set 25-22.
 
In the second set, the Banana Slugs scored the first two points on a Falcons attack error and a kill by Riley Norman. After the Falcons took the lead, the Banana Slugs would come as close as two, at 14-12, on an assisted block by Ownbey and Norman. The Falcons won the second set 25-18. 
 
In set three, the Banana Slugs started the set on a 5-0 run. The Falcons then went on a 9-4 run to tie it at 9-all. There were two more ties before a Falcon service error and kill by Espinoza gave the Banana Slugs the lead for good at 18-16. The third set ended with the Banana Slugs winning 25-22. 
 
The fourth set started strong with the Banana Slugs getting kills from Ownbey, Tuncer and Espinoza to start with a 6-1 lead. After the Falcons tied it 10-10, Fisher got back-to-back service aces to put the Banana Slugs lead at 13-10. The Banana Slugs earned their largest lead of the set at 22-16 after three attack errors by the Falcons. The Banana Slugs won the fourth set 25-20. 
 
Tuncer had a team-high 14 kills plus a season-high 21 assists. Espinoza had 11 kills and 10 digs. Pak had a team-high 29 assists.
 
UC Santa Cruz continue their road trip tomorrow as they will take on Milwaukee School of Engineering in Milwaukee at 5 pm.