STOCKTON, Calif. ?The UC San Diego men's volleyball team made history with a 30-25, 30-18, 30-25 sweep against Pacific at the A.G. Spanos Center. The win, combined with two wins against Pacific in 2008, gave the Tritons three consecutive victories over an institution from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, the first time in school history UCSD has put three wins in-a-row against an MPSF team. Will Ehrman led the way with 18 kills on .438 hitting while Jason Spangler and Calvin Ross also notched double figures in kills. Phil Bannan had 43 assists and three aces, as the Tritons hit at a .297 clip as a team.
With the win, UCSD improves to 3-4, 1-3 MPSF, while the Tigers drop to 2-7, 0-4 MPSF.
Ross finished the night with 10 kills and six blocks while Spangler added 11 kills and two aces. Adrian Guthals added eight kills on a blistering .700 percentage and Eric Leserman had a team-high six digs.
In the first set, the Tritons and Tigers would begin the set close, with the Tritons never giving up the lead after an 18-18 tie. Leading 20-19, the Tritons went on a 7-1 run including two Calvin Ross block assists to take the commanding 28-21 lead. The Tritons would cruise to the 30-25 win as Adrian Guthals put down the final spike.
The Tritons scored four of the first five points in the second set before the Tigers came back and tied the set at 11-11. Ross broke the tie with a kill to give UCSD the 12-11 lead. With UCSD leading 20-18, the Tritons scored the final 10 points of the set as Ross was a big part of the Triton defense recording three blocks in the stretch. Jason Spangler was serving for the scoring run, picking up two service aces, including the set ender at 30-18.
The third set was tied several times, the last coming at 18-18. Guthals and Spangler recorded consecutive kills after a Pacific error and the Tritons led 21-18. Pacific remained closed, coming within 27-25 after a block. Ehrman responded with a kill and a big solo block to force match point. Frank Fritsch followed by slamming down the final kill to put the match away, 30-25.
UCSD is back in action tomorrow night when in it travels to Stanford with a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
