LA JOLLA, Calif. ? The 8th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team defeated No. 12 Hawaii 34-32, 30-23, 25-30, 30-19 on Friday night in RIMAC Arena. It was UCSD's first ever win over the Warriors in 37 all-time meetings. The Tritons were led by a career-high 33 kills from Frank Fritsch on .490 hitting. As a team, UCSD outhit the Warriors .382 - .205. Jason Spangler added 16 kills while Will Ehrman added 13 kills for the Tritons. UCSD also outblocked Hawaii 14.0 ? 8.5. With the win, the Tritons improve to 9-10, 5-9 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while the Warriors drop to 4-12, 3-10 MPSF.
The Tritons have now won three of their last four MPSF matches, heading into Saturday night's rematch with Hawaii.
Also for the Tritons, Gerald Houseman had seven kills and seven blocks while Calvin Ross added five kills and four blocks. It was another all-around match for Phil Bannan with 64 assists, six digs and seven blocks. In addition to Fritsch's 33 kills, he added 14 digs and three blocks.
Hawaii was led by Joshua Walker with 17 kills.
The Tritons served up eight aces and overcame 27 service errors.
In the first set, the Tritons took a 17-13 lead after a Ross and Bannan block. Hawaii would tie the set at 21-21 and take a 26-23 lead. UCSD would rally, tying the set at 27-27 after a Spangler kill. Tied at 29-29, a Fritsch and Houseman block put UCSD ahead 30-29. The teams would tie again and one last tie at 32-32. Ross gave the Tritons the lead at 33-32 and a block by Ross and Bannan closed out the set 34-32 UCSD.
The Tritons hit at a .400 clip in set two, jumping out to a 20-13 lead. Hawaii got as close as 24-21, but kills by Ehrman and Fritsch put UCSD on top 26-21. UCSD got the final point on a Fritsch kill at 30-23.
UCSD was hoping for a sweep in the third set, taking a 12-9 lead after a Fritsch kill. The teams would tie at 21-21 before Hawaii scored four of the next five points to lead 25-22. UCSD cut it down to 26-24, but the Warriors would pull out the win at 30-25.
The Tritons hit at a match best .536 percentage in set four, taking a 15-10 lead after a Fritsch kill. Leading 20-15, the Tritons scored five of the next six points to take command. UCSD cruised to the win, taking the match on an ace by Erik Sierks.
UCSD returns to action on Saturday night when it hosts Hawaii. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in RIMAC Arena.
