SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- The Tusculum men's volleyball team wrapped up the UCSB ASICS Invitational on Saturday (Jan. 11) night against the hosting University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Pioneers (0-3) dropped its third-straight match to a top-20 team this season, falling in straight-sets to the No. 16 Gauchos by scores of 25-15, 25-22, 25-21.

Ben Pearson and Owen Loncar led UCSB with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Cole Schobel dished out 33 assists, while Loncar finished with a match-best three service aces. Schobel also added a match-high seven digs. Four Gauchos were credited with a pair of block assists: Owen Birg, George Bruening, Andreas Schuetz, and Loncar.

For the third-straight night, Deklan Wingo tallied nine kills to head up the Tusculum attack. Donovan Nye finished with five kills, followed by Morgan Makovec (3), Joel Dubinsky (2), Caleb Hammann (2), and Kai Williams (1). Kevin Blankenship recorded 19 assists, as he and Hammann landed the Pioneer aces. Defensively for TU, Wingo scooped up a season-high six digs and Makovec aided in five rejections.

UCSB hit .306 as a team with 44 kills and 18 errors on 85 total attempts. Tusculum hit .175 with 22 kills, 11 errors, and 63 total attacks. The Gauchos led the match in assists (43-22), service aces (8-2), and digs (22-19), while the Pioneers were credited with more total blocks (8-4.5).

Tusculum returns to the East Coast for a busy weekend in the Carolinas, starting at Erskine on Friday (Jan. 17). First serve between the Pioneers and Flying Fleet is scheduled for 6 p.m.