SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Down 0-2, No. 4 Cal Lutheran men's volleyball stormed back and defeated UC Santa Cruz 3-2 on Saturday afternoon. Scores of the match were 23-25, 15-25, 25-22, 26-24, and 15-11. 

With the win, the Kingsmen have swept the Banana Slugs, winning all three matches this year. They are now 20-6 and have won two straight games. 

Michael Stahl led the way with 24 kills and 10 digs. Jordan Cooper was next with 12 kills, Ben Weber had nine, Borys Horiuk added eight, and Taylor Marks had seven. Marks kept the offense moving with 37 assists. Stahl had a team-high three aces and Cooper had three total blocks. 

The Kingsmen were down early and needed to respond in the third set. There were five ties early on before the Kingsmen built a 16-11 lead. It was capped off by a Cooper kill. The Kingsmen ran away with the third set and carried that momentum into the fourth. The fourth set remained close as Stahl swatted down back-to-back kills to push the match to a fifth set. 

With the final set tied at 9-9, Stahl recorded a kill and a Banana Slug error had the Kingsmen in business. The Kingsmen never let the Banana Slugs back in it and Stahl finished off the match with two aces. 

The Kingsmen return home for their last contest but also have an exhibition for Senior Day. They host Ottawa on Thursday at 7 pm.