HONOLULU, Hawaii -The 14th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team took the first set but fell to No. 4 Hawaii 28-30, 30-25, 30-24, 30-28 on Friday night in Honolulu.
Frank Fritsch led the Tritons with 22 kills on .410 hitting, as UCSD hit at a .389 clip in the first set to take an early lead in the match.
Jason Spangler had one of UCSD's five aces on the night, giving him 80 aces in his career, tying the school record. Hawaii was led by Jonas Umlauft who had a match-high 28 kills. UCSD drops to 8-16, 4-13 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, while Hawaii improves to 16-8, 12-7 MPSF.
UCSD hit at a .272 clip for the match, as Spangler added nine kills while Adrian Guthals sent down eight kills. Phil Bannan had 53 assists and Andrew Kaban had 13 digs. In addition to his 22 kills, Fritsch added 11 digs, six blocks and two aces.
Hawaii's Umlauft had his 28 kills on .435 hitting. Joshua Walker added 17 kills while Steven Hunt added 10 kills.
In the first set, the Tritons grabbed a 22-20 lead after a Fritsch kill. The Warriors came back to take a 27-25 lead after a Hunt kill. UCSD stormed back with four consecutive points with the help from Spangler and Carl Eberts. Spangler's ace gave UCSD a 29-27 lead and a kill by Fritsch gave UCSD the first set win at 30-28.
The Warriors took an 8-4 lead early in the second set, forcing UCSD to call a timeout. Hawaii would lead the rest of the way, but the Tritons were within a 20-17 score down the stretch. UCSD pulled as close as 24-22 after a Guthals and Fritsch block, but UH scored six of the final nine points to secure the second set at 30-25.
The third set was similar to the second set as Hawaii led throughout, with the Tritons pulling within 23-20 after a kill from Shane Veiga. UH closed the match on a 7-4 run for the 30-24 win.
In the fourth set, UCSD got back-to-back kills from Spangler and Veiga to lead 22-20 and UCSD was in position to force a possible fifth set. Hawaii scored eight of the next 10 points to take the 28-24 advantage. Leading 29-25, the Tritons fought off three match points before UH took the final set and match at 30-28.
UCSD and Hawaii return to the court on Saturday night with a 7:00 p.m. (HT) first serve in Honolulu.
