THE SCHEDULE
Match 22
vs. No. 1 Hawai'i (17-3, 12-2 MPSF)
Friday, March 27 • 7 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats
Match 23
vs. No. 1 Hawai'i
Saturday, March 28 • 7 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats
The UC San Diego men's volleyball team returns to action this weekend after completing winter quarter final exams last week. The Tritons welcome the top-ranked and first-place Rainbow Warriors of the University of Hawai'i (17-3, 12-2 MPSF) for a two-match Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) series. The teams meet up on Friday, March 27, and on Saturday, March 28, with first serve inside RIMAC Arena set for 7 p.m. on both nights. The Tritons are 2-19 overall and 0-15 in MPSF play. They last entertained the nation's No. 1 team on Jan. 30, 2014, when UCLA came south for a 3-0 win at RIMAC.
TICKET INFORMATION
UCSD students are admitted free to all regular-season home volleyball matches. General admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for visiting students, seniors and UCSD Alumni Association members. Tickets are available at the main entrance to RIMAC Arena on the night of the match. Please note that parking permits are required on the UCSD campus on weeknights. The closest parking lot to RIMAC Arena is the adjacent Hopkins Parking Structure. Permits can be purchased there.
MATCH COVERAGE
Once again this season, all UCSD home matches inside RIMAC Arena feature a live online video stream with public-address audio. The video is free, but a registration and login are required. A majority of road matches also have video. All contests, home and away, have live stats. Fans can access live coverage from the UCSD Schedule/Results page, or by clicking on the links at the top. Follow @UCSDtritons for in-match Twitter updates throughout the season, and @HawaiiMensVB this weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
UCSD dropped a straight-set decision at No. 13 Stanford on Friday, March 13. Game scores were 25-21, 25-17 and 25-17. The Tritons lost despite putting together a season-best blocking effort with a team total of 14.0 to just 4.0 by the host Cardinal. Bryan Zhu and Tanner Syftestad accounted for 10 and eight total blocks, respectively, with the latter adding five kills. Ian Colbert had a team-high nine kills, while Tanner Howard collected eight digs.
BLOCKING SUPERLATIVES AT STANFORD
UCSD's 14.0 total team blocks at Stanford on March 13 were its most since compiling 14.0 in a five-set loss at UC Irvine on March 31, 2013. Bryan Zhu's 10 total blocks were the most by a Triton in a single match in 2015. Zhu thus became the first Triton to reach double figures in blocks for a match since Cheyne Hayes (11) in a five-set triumph at USC on March 16, 2013. The 14.0 team blocks were UCSD's most in a three-set contest since accumulating 17.5 in another 3-0 loss at Stanford on March 10, 2007. That is therefore the highest total for the Tritons in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era (since 2011). Zhu's was likewise the most blocks in a three-setter since Gerald Houseman came up with 12 in that same match at Stanford, with his effort also a program first in terms of double-digit blocks in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era.
DOUBLE-FIGURE TRITONS
UCSD has had 16 individual performances in double-figure kills, with 10 by Tanner Syftestad (12, 14, 10, 12, 13, 16, 12, 16, 11, 11), two by Shayne Beamer (14, 10), and one each by Ian Colbert (10), Alec Flowers (15), Luke La Mont (12) and Kirill Rudenko (11). Rudenko has three for his career, with a high of 12 (vs. GCU in 2014). Mathew Schnitzer (13 at CBU in 2014) is the only other current Triton who has hit double digits in kills for a match in his college career. Tyler Bird has reached double figures in digs in five matches (high of 17 at GCU), Howard in two (11, 12), and Rudenko (10) and Syftestad (10) one each this season. Howard had three such efforts a year ago, with a high of 19 at home against CSUN. Syftestad is the only Triton with a double-double, that coming in the opener at Concordia (1/7).
SYFTESTAD LEADING ON OFFENSE
Tanner Syftestad has made a strong impression early in his UCSD career. The first-year Triton transferred after spending 2013-14 as a true freshman playing club volleyball at Chico State, which does not sponsor an intercollegiate men's volleyball program. The Carmichael native has started all 21 matches at opposite, and produced double-figure kill totals in 10, including each of the first two with 12 at Concordia and 14 more at Grand Canyon. Syftestad added a team- and season-high 10 digs at Concordia for his first double-double, registering eight more in Arizona. Four of his 14 kills at GCU came in the decisive fifth set, with the last two accounting for the Tritons' final two points. Syftestad thus picked up Off the Block National Freshman of the Week honorable mention on Jan. 12. He gained that distinction a second time on March 2 after achieving match highs of 16 kills in a win over Holy Names (2/25) and 11 in a loss to UCLA (2/28). Syftestad leads the Tritons at 2.79 kills per set, which ranks 49th in the nation. He is tied for 12th in the MPSF and 46th in the country at 3.5 points per set, and also now 44th nationally in blocks per set (0.9).
FLOWERS BLOOMING
Alec Flowers, a true freshman originally listed as a middle blocker, has earned his first three collegiate starts at an outside hitter position in UCSD's three most recent matches. He provided team highs in both kills and digs in each of the first two, totaling 23 kills and 15 digs. Flowers was slated to redshirt at the start of the season, and was serving as the team manager with data analysis responsibilities. He made his college debut on Feb. 13 at home against Pepperdine.
BIRD'S EYE VIEW
Tyler Bird, a true freshman out of Redondo Beach and Redondo Union High School, is seventh in the MPSF and 19th nationally in digs at 2.16 per set. He has opened as the Triton libero for 14 of 21 matches, including the first seven, registering double-figure dig totals in five. Bird had a season- and match-high 17 digs in the five-set victory at Grand Canyon on Jan. 10. He collected at least seven digs in each of the first six contests, and has compiled five or more on 12 occasions.
TRITON NOTES
Tanner Syftestad has either paced the squad or shared the lead in kills in 13 of the Tritons' 21 matches this season, including six in a row recently from Feb. 14-March 4 ... Other kill leaders have been Shayne Beamer, Alec Flowers and Luke La Mont twice each, and Ian Colbert, Kirill Rudenko and Mathew Schnitzer once ... Triton setters José Carlos Martinez (6.72) and Milosh Stojcic (6.37) are 13th and 14th, respectively, in the MPSF in assists per set ... UCSD as a team is ninth in the MPSF and 21st nationally in digs, averaging 8.94 per set ... The Tritons are 1-0 in five-set matches, 0-4 in four sets and 1-15 in three sets this season ... UCSD's 2015 schedule has 15 of 28 matches at home, including non-conference dates with Princeton and Ball State ... A program-high eight Tritons earned MPSF All-Academic distinction in 2014, including returner Mathew Schnitzer ... UCSD was picked to finish 12th in the 2015 MPSF race in the conference's preseason coaches' poll, with Pepperdine the overwhelming favorite.
TRITONS ON TELEVISION IN 2015
UCSD had two matches on national television this season, both on the road. The Tritons made their debut on the third-year Pac-12 Networks on Wednesday night, March 4, at No. 7 USC, with former Olympians Kevin Barnett and Kevin Wong on the call inside the Galen Center. UCSD was on BYUtv for the second year in a row for its first of back-to-back dates at BYU on Jan. 30.
GRAND CANYON SUPERLATIVES
UCSD's 3-2 win at Grand Canyon on Jan. 10 marked the first time it rallied to win from a two-set deficit since the 2013 season opener on Jan. 4, 2013, against Lewis on the first day of the UCSB Asics Invitational in Santa Barbara. The contest in Phoenix, Ariz., also was the first time that four Tritons reached double-figure kill totals, since a five-set loss in the 2013 season finale at home against Hawai'i (April 13, 2013). The result snapped a string of 15 straight losses for UCSD outside of La Jolla, the Tritons having gone a winless 0-14 on the road in 2014. They had last won a five-set decision at USC on March 16, 2013.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 20-player 2015 UCSD roster includes no seniors, only three juniors, and just six returners who saw any court time in 2014. The three juniors are second-year Tritons Tanner Howard and Kirill Rudenko, and Mathew Schnitzer, who redshirted as a freshman in 2013. At 6-foot-6, Schnitzer is now a starting middle blocker who led the team in 2014 with a .312 hitting percentage (104-34-224), was second with 33 blocks, and fourth in kills. Rudenko, a native of Russia, produced 79 kills and nine aces as a part-time starter at an outside hitter spot. Howard contributed team bests of 2.05 digs per set and a .959 reception rate in just under half a season in 2014 at libero. UCSD has eight returners in all, including three redshirt freshmen, and 12 newcomers to the program. All three redshirt freshmen, and 10 newcomers, have appeared in a match so far in 2015. The lone San Diego product is redshirt freshman middle Bryan Zhu, a graduate of Rancho Bernardo High School.
UCSD CAPTAINS
Team tri-captains for the 2015 season were designated as juniors Tanner Howard and Mathew Schnitzer, and redshirt freshman setter José Carlos Martinez. All three are first-time captains.
TEAM MANAGER TO TEAM CAPTAIN
Tanner Howard was the team manager as a true freshman in 2013 and for the first half of the 2014 season before injuries put him on the active roster on Feb. 27, 2014, and on the court as UCSD's primary libero a day later for a home date with non-conference foe Grand Canyon. In his very first appearance in a Triton uniform that night, he handled a match-high 16 digs over the five-set affair to help lead UCSD to its first win. The Pismo Beach native also put together a solid passing game, with zero reception errors in 27 opportunities, and added three assists. Howard contributed a team-high six digs the following night vs. UCSB, and reached double figures again with 10 in a 3-2 home win over CBU (3/13), with a season-high four assists. He then posted a season- and match-high 19 digs in a five-set home loss to CSUN (3/29), the highest single-match total for a Triton since former libero Chase Frishman also had 19 on March 30, 2012. This year, Howard has opened at libero in seven matches, including both at BYU and each of the past three. He collected 11 digs at BYU on Jan. 30, and a season-high 12 vs. Stanford on Feb. 14.
HEAD COACH KEVIN RING
Kevin Ring is in his 10th season in charge at his alma mater. The 2009 MPSF Coach of the Year, he has a 72-206 overall record at the helm. Before being elevated to the head-coaching position on June 15, 2005, Ring spent the previous nine years as an assistant for the UCSD men's squad. He got his start at UCSD as the men's volleyball team manager from 1989-91 before playing for the Tritons for three seasons. Ring was the full-time manager for the USA men's national team from 1991-93 and continued on as a technical advisor through 1996. He accompanied Team USA to the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona and the 1996 Games in Atlanta. The 1992 squad left Spain with a bronze medal. To this day, Ring maintains strong ties to USA Volleyball, as he has been aiding women's national team head coach Karch Kiraly and his staff in preparing Team USA for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. Most recently, that involvement included serving as an on-court assistant to Kiraly for three matches in Bangkok, Thailand, on the final stop of the FIVB World Grand Prix preliminary rounds in August of 2014.
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WARRIORS
Hawai'i (17-3, 12-2 MPSF) is atop the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll for the first time since 2004, and comes to La Jolla on a 10-match win streak, its longest since 2007. The Rainbow Warriors are No. 1 for the second week in a row, now receiving 10 of 18 first-place votes. They have been idle since a pair of home victories over Hope International in non-conference action, March 13-14. UH will remain on the mainland following its visit to RIMAC, to play two more matches at UCLA on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Senior opposite Brook Sedore leads Hawai'i at 3.59 kills per set. He put down 50 total kills in the Rainbow Warriors' two wins inside RIMAC Arena at the end of the 2013 season. Senior middle blocker Taylor Averill and junior libero Kolby Kanetake currently pace the MPSF in hitting percentage (.494) and digs per set (2.96), respectively. Hawai'i has a pair of San Diego natives on its roster in fifth-year senior Scott Hartley of Encinitas and freshman Kekoa Pukahi of Carlsbad. Both are La Costa Canyon High School graduates, though Pukahi has yet to appear in a match. Third-year collegians Mathew Schnitzer of UCSD and Zach Radner of UH, played together at Los Alamitos High School. Charlie Wade is in his sixth season in charge of the Rainbow Warriors, who are 5-1 away from the islands in 2015.
SERIES HISTORY
UH leads the all-time series, 47-4, and swept last year's set in Honolulu, both by 3-0 scores, as well as the 2013 contests in La Jolla, 3-1 and 3-2. The sides had split the previous eight meetings between 2009-12. After UH won the first 39 match-ups, the Tritons swept the 2009 series in La Jolla on March 13-14, 3-1 and 3-2. The teams split at RIMAC Arena in 2011, with UCSD winning in five sets on Jan. 28 and UH taking a 3-1 decision the following night. In 2012, the Tritons triumphed for the first time ever in Honolulu, 3-0 on Jan. 6, after the Rainbow Warriors had defeated them in straight sets the day before in the season opener for both squads.
GEAR HERE
UCSD Athletics has partnered with Advanced-Online to provide a web-based, on-demand option for UCSD apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours. Visit the site at UCSDTritonsGear.com.
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UP NEXT
The Tritons have their final home weekend of the 2015 season coming up, as they host No. 14 CSUN on Friday, April 3, and No. 10 Long Beach State on Saturday, April 4. First serve inside RIMAC Arena for both of those contests is set for 7 p.m.
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