LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team suffered a 28-30, 33-31, 30-21, 28-30, 16-14 loss to No. 10 UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night in RIMAC Arena. It was the third time this season that the two squads went the distance, with the last two meetings won by the Gauchos. UCSB's Jeff Menzel was too much for the Tritons, sending down a match-high 33 kills. UCSD was led by Jason Spangler with 23 kills and Joel Davidson with 19 kills. With the loss, UCSD drops to 4-9, 1-7 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while UCSB improves to 6-7, 6-4 MPSF.

There were a total of 41 ties in the match along with 16 lead changes. 31 of those ties would come in the first two sets.

Additionally for UCSB, Jake Rosener had 14 kills and Sam Moisenco had 13 kills and several big blocks, two important blocks in the fifth set.

The Tritons got seven kills apiece from Frank Fritsch and Calvin Ross. Alex Simon came off the bench to add six kills. Andrew Kaban had a match-high 14 digs while Phil Bannan had a double-double with 66 assists and 11 digs. Ross also added a team-high nine blocks.

In the first set, the final tie came at 27-27. UCSD got the next two points on a Davidson kill and UCSB error. Davidson would win the first set for UCSD with a kill at 30-28.

There were 16 ties in the second set as neither team would lead by more than three points. UCSD led 26-23 after a Davidson ace. UCSB rallied to score four straight points to regain the lead. Both teams had chances at set point. UCSD took a 31-30 lead on a UCSB over pass as Bannan sent down a kill. UCSB got a block to tie it and a UCSD attack error ended it in favor of the Gauchos at 33-31.

UCSB controlled the third set, hitting at a .444 clip. UCSB cruised to the 30-21 win.

UCSD led 26-20 in the fourth set after a UCSB service error. The Gauchos stormed back within 27-25 before a Spangler kill regained some momentum. UCSB would pull as close as 29-28, but Cyrus Kiani sent down a kill to give UCSD the win and force the fifth set at 30-28.

In the fifth, UCSB scored four of the first five points, but UCSD climbed back within 7-6. With the score tied at 10-10, UCSB scored consecutive points to put the pressure on the Tritons. UCSD climbed back to tie it at 14-14 after a UCSB error. After a UCSB kill, a Gaucho block wrapped up the match for the Gauchos.

UCSD is back in action next week when it hosts BYU. First serve on Friday night is set for 7:00 p.m. in RIMAC Arena.