THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — No. 6 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball defeated UC Santa Cruz for the second time this year with a score of 3-1 on Saturday night. Scores of the match were 25-17, 25-21, 25-27, 25-17.

The Kingsmen took down their fourth ranked opponent as they improved to 5-1. They beat then-No. 14 UC Santa Cruz last week and now No. 19 UCSC this week.

Michael Stahl recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs. Borys Horiuk was next with 11 kills, while hitting with a .550 percentage, and had seven total blocks. Ben Weber and Jordan Cooper kept the kills coming with seven each. Weber added three aces. Taylor Marks kept the offense rolling with 36 assists and added eight digs, four block assists, and two kills. 

The Kingsmen won the first two sets as they looked for the sweep of the Banana Slugs. They came up just short in the third set and the match went to a fourth. The Kingsmen scored the first four points of the fourth set. UCSC fought back and eventually trailed by just one, 13-12. The Kingsmen answered by scoring three straight and had some breathing room again. The Kingsmen continued to put up the points and took the set and the match. 

The Kingsmen continue their tough stretch on Sunday morning with another ranked opponent. It will be a top-10 battle as the Kingsmen face No. 10 NYU at 10 a.m.