A rivalry that boiled over 45 years ago continues to fire up the crowds in UCSB’s Robertson Gym.
“It’s fun to beat that team,” UCSB men’s volleyball coach Rick McLaughlin said after the Gauchos scored a stirring five-set victory over UCLA last Wednesday. “I’ve followed the history closely and know what it means.”
In the first six years that the NCAA sponsored men’s volleyball championships, the Gauchos met UCLA in the final three times, and each time, the Bruins prevailed. The 1974 final was played at Rob Gym and was an epic match in which the Bruins rallied to upset the top-seeded Gauchos. That result seemed to solidify a UCLA dynasty that has brought 19 national championships to Westwood.