THOUSAND OAKS– Bouncing back from a loss to the country's top-ranked team, the 16th-ranked UC Santa Cruz men's volleyball team took on No. 16 Marymount University and won 3-2 (25-20, 24-26, 23-25, 25-19, 15-8) on Sunday afternoon.
 
The first set started with the Banana Slugs getting the first point from a double block by Ethan Makishima and Nico Espinoza. The Saints gained the lead until Kyle Ownbey made back-to-back kills helping the Banana Slugs recover (15-15). The Banana Slugs finished the set strong with kills from Noy Fisher, Makishima, and Ownbey and ended with a kill by Espinoza.
 
Riley Norman started the second set with a kill and a bad set from the Saints making the score (2-0). The Banana Slugs gained a lead with four consecutive kills by Fisher, Ownbey, Norman, and Espinoza making the score 8-5. However, the Saints were able to come back and take the lead (14-13). It was a back-and-forth set, but the Saints were able to pull through with the score being 26-24.
 
The third set was an intense one for the Banana Slugs and Saints. The Saints gained the lead from the start and kept the intensity high. The Banana Slugs recovered from a deficit with a kill by Norman. It was another back-and-forth match, yet the Saints finished this set with a score of 25-23.
 
Set four had Makishima and Foreman both contributing points with back-to-back double blocks making the score 6-2 Banana Slugs. The Banana Slugs led this whole set, which ended with a kill by Norman making the score 25-19 to extend the match to a decisive fifth set.
 
The last set started with high energy with two kills from Leo Tuncer and Espinoza putting the Banana Slugs in the lead (3-2). Norman, Foreman, and Espinoza all helped with kills making the score 11-6 with the Banana Slugs maintaining the lead. The match ended with UC Santa Cruz scoring the last four points making the score 15-8.
 
Norman had a team-high with 15 kills on 30 attacks while also having 13 digs. Espinoza had 13 kills on 39 total attacks. Makishima had a career-high ten block assists, Jalen Suwa led the defense with 19 digs, and Logan Taylor had the most assists with 27.
 
UC Santa Cruz improved to 12-9 and will next play against Lakeland University on March 28th in Plymouth, Wisconsin to open their spring break trip.