January 10, 2006
Slugs Defeat Medaille, Get First Win

SANTA CRUZ, CA -- UC Santa Cruz evened its record at 1-1 (1-0 NCAA DIII) by sweeping Medaille College (Buffalo, NY) 36-34, 30-20, 30-23.

The match started as a sideout contest with the two teams trading points in the first part of game one. With the score tied 12-12 the Slugs passing broke down and Medaille eventually took at 7-point lead at 24-17. The Slugs chipped away the lead and, guided by Bryan Shires' (Outside Hitter, So.) serving, tied the game at 29-29. The sideout battle continued until Senior Outside Hitter Tyler Madden put away a strong kill for the Slugs to take the lead and eventually win game one 36-34.

Senior Setter Matt Reynolds had 48 assists for the match while helping three hitters to double-digit kills. Madden notched 15 kills, while Jesse Garber (Middle Blocker, So.) added 12 kills, with no errors, on 17 attempts. Brice Dahlmeier (Outside Hitter, Fr.) recorded 12 kills.

The Slugs 1-1, (1-0 NCAA DIII) will take on Stevens Institute January 11, at 7 p.m. in another DIII match up. The Stevens Ducks, who defeated Medaille in 3 games on January 10, 2006, lost to the Slugs in 3 games in 2005.