LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 14th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team won its second consecutive match for the second-time this season, defeating the NAIA top-ranked team in Cal Baptist 25-30, 30-14, 30-28, 30-26 on Wednesday night in RIMAC Arena. The Tritons outhit Cal Baptist .304 - .218, including hitting at a .706 clip in the second set win. UCSD was led by
Jason Spangler with 16 kills on .367 hitting, while
Adrian Guthals added 13 kills on .435 hitting. CBU was paced by Mohamed Khattab with 17 kills. With the win, UCSD improves to 10-18, while Cal Baptist drops to 19-11.
UCSD is now 4-11 all-time against the Lancers, with the last win over Cal Baptist coming during the 2005 campaign.
Frank Fritsch added 10 kills for the Tritons while Carl Eberts had nine kills. Calvin Ross recorded eight kills with a team-high six blocks. Phil Bannan had 53 assists, four digs and four blocks.
The Tritons led 15-12 in the first set and later led 19-16 after a Spangler kill. CBU tied the set up at 19-19 after a Khattab kill. UCSD led 22-20 after a CBU error, but the lead was short lived as the Lancers closed the set on a 10-3 run, winning 30-25.
UCSD was untouchable in the second set, taking an 11-3 lead after a Guthals kill and never looking back. UCSD would commit only one attack error in the set and cruised to the 30-14 win, hitting at a .706 clip.
The third set featured six ties and three lead changes. The Tritons led 27-25, only to see CBU rally late and tie the set at 28-28. Fritsch and Ross gave UCSD set point with a block and Fritsch would send home the final kill for the UCSD 30-28 win.
The Tritons started quickly in the fourth set, taking an 8-4 lead after a CBU error. The Tritons quickly extended the lead to 17-11 after two Eberts kills, combined with two CBU errors. The Lancers would rally and pull within 20-18 on a block by Khattab. With UCSD leading 22-20, Spangler sent down a kill and a block by Eberts and Ross gave UCSD the lift they needed. CBU once again came within 28-26, but a service error and a kill by Spangler gave UCSD the victory.
UCSD will aim for its first three-match winning streak of the year on Friday night when UCSD hosts No. 6 USC. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. in RIMAC Arena.
