BoxSANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Visiting Nazareth dropped a key non-conference match between two nationally ranked teams Friday as sixth-ranked UC Santa Cruz downed the seventh-ranked Golden Flyers in four sets. Scores were 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-22.
Nazareth dropped to 18-6 overall, while the Banana Slugs improved to 16-5. Nazareth completes its West Coast trip Saturday with a non-conference match against Ramapo at 6 p.m. eastern time.
Nazareth posted a solid .382 hitting percentage (54-12-110), but UC Santa Cruz countered with a .351 success rate (59-19-114). Senior
Tim Zyburt had 16 kills for Nazareth with four digs and five blocks and freshman
Zachary Gillard added 14 kills with five digs and two blocks. Sophomore setter
Jake Kemp had 32 assists.
Jake Howard had 16 kills for Santa Cruz, including nine in the first two sets to give the Banana Slugs a commanding advantage. Lake Merchen also had 16 kills with eight in the first two sets. Zyburt and Gillard combined for seven kills for Nazareth in the third set as the Golden Flyers tried to stage a comeback.
In the decisive fourth set, Nazareth's
Grant Levermore had four kills, but Howard and Merchen combined for eight kills for Santa Cruz to clinch the match.
