April 7, 2006
Slugs Sweep Riviera to Advance to Championship Match

Freshman outside hitter Brice Dahlmeier (Aptos, Calif.) tallied 12 kills and seven digs in leading Santa Cruz to a 30-14, 30-20, 30-19 victory over Rivier in the first semifinal of the evening.  Dahlmeier hit .625 (12-2-16) in the match.  The Banana Slugs also received a solid performance from senior opposite Tyler Madden (Grass Valley, Calif.), who posted 12 kills, six digs and three total blocks. 

Meanwhile, sophomore middle blocker David Henderson (Woodacre, Calif.) collected nine kills, four service aces, four digs and three block assists.  Sophomore middle blocker Jesse Garber (San Diego, Calif.) had nine kills and six block assists.  Senior setter Matthew Reynolds (La Habra, Calif.) registered a team-high 44 assists to go along with six digs and five block assists. 

Rivier was led by senior middle hitter Andrew Chace (East Providence, R.I.), who had nine kills and four total blocks.  Junior outside hitter Zack Stedman (Riverside, R.I.) added six kills and nine digs in the loss.  Senior setter Nhut Chau (Lawrence, Mass.) finished with 15 assists for the Raiders, who had their 22-match win streak come to an end. 

Santa Cruz, which entered the match ranked No. 4 in the nation in the most recent CSTV/AVCA Division III Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll, out-hit fifth-ranked Rivier .407 (50-13-91) to .019 (29-27-108).  The Banana Slugs also had 12 total team blocks to just five by the Raiders. 

In the first game, Santa Cruz raced out to an early 10-3 lead and never looked back.  Henderson had a service ace to put his team in front 21-9 as the Banana Slugs continued to pull away. 

Leading 17-16 midway through the second game, Santa Cruz rattled off five straight points to take control of the action.  Madden drilled his fifth kill of the game as UCSC went ahead 28-19.  Sophomore outside hitter Bryan Shires (San Diego, Calif.) finished the game with a kill off an assist from Reynolds. 

At 8-5 in the third game, Santa Cruz scored 13 of the next 18 points to grab a commanding 21-10 lead.  Garber had three kills in the decisive run.

--Press Release Courtesy of Steven's Institute Sports Information Department