LISLE, Ill. - The UC Santa Cruz men's volleyball team secured a strong 3-1 victory over Benedictine (Ill.), bouncing back from a slow start to take control of the match. After dropping the first set 15-25, the Banana Slugs rallied to win the next three sets 25-20, 25-21, and 25-22. Leading the offensive attack, Dylan Foreman had an outstanding performance with a match-high 20 kills. Riley Norman contributed 11 kills, while Kyle Ownbey added eight to the team's effort. Defensively, Foreman showcased his all-around game by not only leading in kills but also pacing the team with 10 digs. Setter Andrew Pak orchestrated the Banana Slugs' offense effectively, dishing out 40 assists to set up the team's hitters. With the victory, UC Santa Cruz is now 18-6 on the season and will be back in action tomorrow with a doubleheader against Wisconsin Lutheran and Aurora at 12:30 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. PST.

How It Happened
The Banana Slugs dropped the opening set of the contest as the Eagles earned the first point and never looked back, jumping out to an early 9-5 lead before charging forward to an 18-9 advantage. The Eagles outpaced UCSC down the stretch to take set one 25-15.
The Slugs responded in set two as Riley Norman earned the first kill of the game to kickstart a quick 3-1 run but the Eagles stayed close, working to a 9-9 tie in the early going. From there, the Slugs point on the pressure, using a 7-2 run to force a Benedictine timeout with UCSC leading 16-11. Out of the break, the teams went an even 9-9 with Dylan Foreman leading the attack with three kills as UCSC took set two 25-20.
The Banana Slugs and Eagles played similar third and fourth sets, but UCSC managed to maintain the advantage in both, fighting through narrow scorelines for the bulk of the sets before pushing towards the finish line. In set three, the Eagles closed the gap to 19-17 but that was as close as they'd manage as UCSC outscored them 6-4 to take set three 25-21. Set four featured a closer finish with Benedictine closing the gap to 22-21 but a 3-1 run put the finishing touches on the 3-1 victory for UC Santa Cruz.