# 2023 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball team

The 2023 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball team represented University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2023 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Gauchos, led by fifteenth year head coach Rick McLaughlin, played their home games between Robertson Gymnasium. The Gauchos compete as members of the Big West Conference and were picked the finish fourth in the Big West preseason poll.

## Preseason
### Coaches poll

The preseason poll was released on December 21, 2022. UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish fourth in the Big West Conference standings.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Hawai'i | 25 (5) |
| 2 | Long Beach State | 19 |
| 3 | UC Irvine | 17 (1) |
| 4 | UC Santa Barbara | 13 |
| 5 | CSUN | 10 |
| 6 | UC San Diego | 6 |

## Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming/Radio information:
    ESPN+ will carry most home and all conference road games. All other road broadcasts will be carried by the schools respective streaming partner.
| Date Time | Opponent | Rank | Arena City (Tournament) | Television | Score | Attendance | Record (Big West Record) |
| 1/05 3 p.m. | #10 USC | #7 | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational) | Vimeo | W 3–1 (19–25, 25–16, 25–18, 25–23) | 542 | 1–0 |
| 1/06 5:30 p.m. | Lincoln Memorial | #7 | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational) | | L 2–3 (23–25, 25–21, 22–25, 25–17, 12–15) | 234 | 1–1 |
| 1/08 8 p.m. | #2 UCLA | #7 | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | L 0–3 (24–26, 16–25, 14–25) | 422 | 1–2 |
| 1/13 7 p.m. | @ #8 Stanford | #10 | Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center Stanford, CA | P12+ STAN | L 0–3 (16–25, 24–26, 18–25) | 596 | 1-3 |
| 1/14 5 p.m. | @ #8 Stanford | #10 | Burnham Pavilion & Ford Center Stanford, CA | P12+ STAN | L 2–3 (25-20, 22–25, 26–24, 24-26, 12-15) | 585 | 1-4 |
| 1/19 7 p.m. | @ #10 USC | #12 | Galen Center Los Angeles, CA | P12+ USC | L 2–3 (25-21, 22–25, 22–25, 25-18, 12-15) | 1,508 | 1-5 |
| 1/20 7 p.m. | @ #2 UCLA | #12 | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA | P12+ UCLA | L 0–3 (30-32, 17-25, 21-25) | 950 | 1-6 |
| 2/01 7 p.m. | @ #5 Pepperdine | #15 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, CA | WavesCast | L 0–3 (23-25, 21-25, 21-25) | 372 | 1-7 |
| 2/03 7 p.m. | #5 Pepperdine | #15 | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-11, 15-12) | 312 | 2-7 |
| 2/10 5 p.m. | @ #10 BYU | #14 | Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT | BYUtv | L 1–3 (25-22, 19-25, 23-25, 20-25) | 3,516 | 2-8 |
| 2/11 5 p.m. | @ #10 BYU | #14 | Smith Fieldhouse Provo, UT | BYUtv | L 1–3 (19-25, 20-25, 25-19, 17-25) | 3,785 | 2-9 |
| 3/01 7 p.m. | Vanguard | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20) | 114 | 3-9 |
| 3/03 7 p.m. | UC San Diego* | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 28-26, 25-22) | 403 | 4-9 (1-0) |
| 3/10 7 p.m. | Long Beach State* | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | L 1-3 (25-23, 20-25, 16-25, 23-25) | 312 | 4-10 (1-1) |
| 3/11 7 p.m. | @ Long Beach State* | | Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (25-21, 18-25, 20-25, 25-22, 11-15) | 1,745 | 4-11 (1-2) |
| 3/14 7 p.m. | Harvard | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-18) | 130 | 5-11 |
| 3/16 7 p.m. | #6 UC Irvine* | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (25-23, 25-22, 15-25, 11-25, 11-15) | 312 | 5-12 (1-3) |
| 3/17 7 p.m. | @ #6 UC Irvine* | | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA | ESPN+ | L 0-3 (23-25, 22-25, 20-25) | 790 | 5-13 (1-4) |
| 3/31 7 p.m. | #1 Hawai'i* | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | L 0-3 (22-25, 21-25, 27-29) | 542 | 5-14 (1-5) |
| 4/01 7 p.m. | #1 Hawai'i* | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | L 0-3 (19-25, 21-25, 27-29) | 634 | 5-15 (1-6) |
| 4/07 7 p.m. | @ UC San Diego* | | LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA | ESPN+ | L 2-3 (20-25, 25-20, 25-19, 14-25, 13-15) | 851 | 5-16 (1-7) |
| 4/14 7 p.m. | @ #14 CSUN* | | Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) | 289 | 6-16 (2-7) |
| 4/15 7 p.m. | #14 CSUN | | Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA | ESPN+ | W 3-1 (25-18, 27-25, 21-25, 25-21) | 325 | 7-16 (3-7) |
| 4/20 5 p.m. | UC San Diego $^{(5)}$ | $^{(4)}$ | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Quarterfinal) | ESPN+ | W 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 15-12) | 1 | 8-16 |
| 4/21 5 p.m. | #1 Hawai'i $^{(1)}$ | $^{(4)}$ | Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Semifinal) | ESPN+ | L 0-3 (18-25, 19-25, 18-25) | 1 | 8-17 |
    *-Indicates conference match.
    Times listed are Pacific Time Zone.

## Announcers for televised games

* USC: Max Kelton & Katie Spieler
* UCLA: Max Kelton & Katie Spieler
* Stanford: Troy Clardy
* Stanford: Ted Enberg
* USC: Max Kelton & Cameron Greene
* UCLA:
* Pepperdine:
* Pepperdine:
* BYU:
* BYU:
* Vanguard:
* UC San Diego:
* Long Beach State:
* Long Beach State:
* Harvard:
* UC Irvine:
* UC Irvine:
* Hawai'i:
* Hawai'i:
* UC San Diego:
* CSUN:
* CSUN:
* Big West Tournament:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AVCA Coaches | 7 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 14 | RV | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV |
| Off the Block Media | Not released | Not released | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
^The Media did not release a Pre-season poll.