IRVINE, Calif. - UC San Diego fell in three sets at fourth-ranked UC Irvine on Saturday night to end its 2015 season. Set scores were 25-17, 25-21 and 25-15, as the host Anteaters secured the top spot in the final Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) regular-season standings, and therefore earned the No. 1 seed for the eight-team MPSF Tournament.
In front of 1,005 spectators on Senior Night at the Bren Events Center, the Tritons (2-26, 0-22 MPSF) out-blocked their opponent for the sixth time on the year, 8.5-4.0, but UCI (25-4, 19-3 MPSF) pounded out a .365 hitting percentage and eight service aces, to .165 and just one for UCSD.
Ian Colbert and Tanner Syftestad had eight kills apiece for the Tritons, with Colbert adding a team-high six digs and Syftestad collecting four digs of his own to go along with three total blocks. UCSD had four solo stuffs on the night, with two coming from Shayne Beamer. The sophomore middle blocker finished with a match-best five total blocks to equal his career high, and four kills offensively without an error on 12 attacks (.333). Freshman setter Milosh Stojcic dished out 23 assists and provided the Tritons' only ace.
Travis Woloson (12) and Zack La Cavera (11) each reached double figures in kills for the Anteaters. Woloson hit .550 (12-1-20), while La Cavera had three blocks. A third senior, libero Michael Brinkley, got to 14 digs to lead all players.
UCI got out to a 5-1 lead in the first set. UCSD closed to within two twice, at 11-9 on a triple block by Colbert, Syftestad and Mathew Schnitzer, and then again at 12-10. A 3-0 run made it 15-10 in favor of the home side, however, with another four-point stretch in quick succession making it a difficult 19-11 deficit.
The Tritons scored three of the first four in the second, and forced 11 tie scores and four lead changes for the frame. It was knotted one final time at 14-14 on a Woloson kill that triggered a 4-0 sequence that suddenly gave the Anteaters a 17-14 advantage. UCSD later trailed by a single point at 19-18 after the Stojcic ace, but UCI managed four of the next five to go up by four at 23-19.
Though UCSD tallied the initial point in the third, UC Irvine immediately surged ahead, 5-1. Another debilitating 7-0 run put the Tritons up against it at 12-3.
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