LONG BEACH, Calif.  ? The UC San Diego men's volleyball team lost in straight sets to No. 7 Long Beach State 30-26, 30-26, 32-30 on Friday night at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.  It was the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener for both teams.  The Tritons were led by Will Ehrman with 13 kills on .333 hitting.  Frank Fritsch added eight kills while Calvin Ross and Joel Davidson added seven kills apiece.  With the loss, UCSD drops to 1-2, 0-1 MPSF while the 49ers improve to 2-2, 1-0 MPSF.  UCSD is back in action on Wednesday, January 21 when it takes on UC Irvine on the Anteater campus.

Also for the Tritons, Eric Leserman recorded eight digs.

The Beach hit .441 in winning game one. Bittner led the way with 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .667 (9-1-12), while Alexander had four kills and a .571 hitting percentage (4-0-7) and Pestolesi had three kills and a .429 hitting percentage (3-0-7).

Klipsch had 17 assists in game one which featured 11 tie scores and four lead changes. The Beach pulled away after the final tie (21-21), scoring nine of the next 14 points.

LBSU hit .281 in winning game two, taking advantage of UCSD's .205 hitting percentage. Bittner paced The Beach in game two hitting .727 with nine kills. Klipsch added 14 assists.

The third set featured 21 tie scores and eight lead changes as the 49ers hit .286 compared to the Tritons .333. Baughman led Long Beach State with an .833 hitting percentage in the final game with five kills.

UCSD's Adrian Guthals had a team-high six blocks to go with his five kills.  Phil Bannan had 37 assists.