LOS ANGELES, Calif.  ?The 9th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team suffered a 30-25, 30-26, 30-27 loss to No. 4 USC on Saturday night at the Galen Center.  The Tritons fell behind 28-20 in the third set and put together a furious rally but fell short in attempting to extend the match.  Frank Fritsch led the Tritons with 12 kills while Gerald Houseman added 10 kills on .588 hitting.  The loss drops UCSD to 10-12, 6-11 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation while the Trojans improve to 15-6, 11-5 MPSF.  UCSD is back in action on Friday when it hosts Pacific at 7:00 p.m. in RIMAC Arena.

Calvin Ross and Jason Spangler hit seven kills apiece, while Spangler also had a team-high eight digs.

USC was led by Tony Ciarelli with 12 kills on .625 hitting.  The Trojans outhit UCSD .326 - .227.

The Tritons trailed 13-11 in the first set when the Trojans went on a small run to take a 19-13 lead after a USC block.  With USC leading 29-23, the Tritons fought off several match points but the Trojans put it away at 30-25.

UCSD held a 14-13 lead in the second set after a Phil Bannan and Ross block.  With the Tritons trailing 22-19, UCSD came back to cut the deficit down to 24-23 after a Ross kill.  USC got three quick points out of the timeout and won the set 30-26. 

In the third set, the Tritons trailed 13-11 as the Trojans scored three straight points to lead by five.  UCSD would fall behind 28-20 before making things interesting.  A kill by Ross capped four consecutive UCSD points and pulled UCSD within 28-24.  The Tritons got within 29-27 after a Ross ace and block assist by Ehrman and Houseman.  After a Trojan timeout, USC put the match away with a kill.