THE SCHEDULE
Match 7
vs. Hope International (4-2)
Saturday, Jan. 28 • 7 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats • Tickets
Match 8
vs. Princeton (2-2, 0-0 EIVA)
Wednesday, Feb. 1 • 6 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats • Tickets
Match 9
at USC (2-5, 1-3 MPSF)
Saturday, Feb. 4 • 7 p.m.
Galen Center • Los Angeles
Live Video • Live Audio • Live Stats • Tickets
The University of California San Diego men's volleyball team, coming off of its first win of 2017, awaits three matches in an eight-day span. The Tritons (1-5, 0-4 MPSF) host Hope International University (4-2) of Fullerton at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, in its only match this week. They then remain in non-conference action to welcome Princeton (2-2) to RIMAC Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 6 p.m. UC San Diego returns to Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) play at USC (2-5, 1-3 MPSF) on Saturday night, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. inside the Galen Center. Around that date with the Trojans, the Tritons contest five of their next six in La Jolla.
TICKET INFORMATION
General admission tickets for home volleyball matches are $8 for adults and $5 for visiting students, seniors (65 and older), children (7 and older) and UCSD Alumni Association members. UCSD students and kids under seven years of age are admitted free. Tickets are available at the main entrance to RIMAC Arena on the night of the match. Parking permits are required on the UCSD campus on weeknights. The closest lot to RIMAC is the adjacent Hopkins Parking Structure. Permits can be purchased there at machines by the elevator. Parking is free on Saturdays.
TRITON VOLLEYBALL ON UCSDTRITONS.TV
UC San Diego Athletics and local technology giant ViaSat once again in 2017 bring you Triton Men's Volleyball on UCSDtritons.tv, an online streaming platform. All broadcasts are in high definition, and can be viewed from smartphones and tablets. UCSD alum and former Triton baseball pitcher (2007-08) Tim Strombel (@Timmy2Sides) serves as the primary play-by-play voice, and is typically joined by 1988 Olympic gold medalist, beach legend and current UCSD women's volleyball head coach Ricci Luyties. Viewing is subscription-based, though it is free from UCSD campus IP addresses. A package that gives viewers access to all streamed events through the 2016-17 academic year is available for $34.99. A single-day option can be purchased for $5.99. The channel also carries all Triton home basketball contests, a majority of baseball, soccer, softball and water polo games, and a variety of other home events featuring virtually every one of UCSD's 23 intercollegiate sports at least once. Events are archived.
MATCH COVERAGE
In addition to UCSD home matches featuring live online video at our streaming portal, UCSDtritons.tv, all contests, home and away, have live stats. A majority of road dates also have video, including next Saturday at USC. Fans can access live coverage from the Schedule/Results page, or by clicking on the links above. Follow @UCSDtritons for in-match Twitter updates throughout the season, and @USCmensvolley on Feb. 4.
NATIONAL EXPOSURE FOR TRITONS
UC San Diego's first of four national television appearances in 2017 came on Saturday, Jan. 14, in the form of a 3-0 loss at No. 2 UCLA, with the action from Pauley Pavilion on Pac-12 Los Angeles. The Tritons can later be seen on Pac-12 Bay Area at Stanford on Saturday, April 1. They were on Pac-12 Networks one previous time, a 3-0 defeat at USC on March 4, 2015. Both matches at preseason MPSF favorite BYU on Friday, Feb. 17, and Saturday, Feb. 18, air on BYUtv.
LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego is coming off of the split of back-to-back five-setters last weekend. The Tritons dropped a heartbreaker to then-sixth-ranked UC Irvine at home on Friday, Jan. 20, storming back from down two sets and 23-20 in the third to force a decider. They even then led 10-5 and 13-11 in that fifth, procuring a match point, before the visiting Anteaters stole the victory. The following night in Irvine, UCSD rallied from a pair of one-set deficits to earn its first win of 2017, 3-2 at Division II rival Concordia. Tanner Syftestad put down a career-high 23 kills against UCI and added 22 more against the Eagles, including six in game five alone, to lead all players on both nights. Ryan Lew returned to the lineup on Friday and gathered a match-high 16 digs.
TRITONS DEBUT IN FIRST-YEAR OTB D-II POLL
Last Saturday's five-set victory at Division II rival Concordia Irvine moved UCSD into the first-year Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. Division II National Coaches Poll for the first time at the No. 5 spot on Tuesday. The Tritons were receiving votes outside of the top five over the initial two listings. Concordia is No. 3.
25TH AND FINAL MPSF SEASON
The 2017 campaign is UCSD's milestone 25th and final one in the MPSF. The Tritons have been in the MPSF ever since it debuted in 1993. They will join the newly-formed Big West Conference as an associate member when play begins in that league in 2018. Full Big West members CSUN, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara also move over from the MPSF, giving the conference the minimum six teams required for postseason NCAA automatic qualification. Before it goes, UCSD looks to break a string of what is now 49 consecutive losses in league play dating back to late in the 2014 season, when the Tritons swept visiting Pacific on April 11. They have never qualified for the MPSF Tournament.
DOUBLE-FIGURE TRITONS
2017
Kills
2-Devin Pontigon (Best of 14 on 1/7 vs. GCU)
2-Tanner Syftestad (Best of 23 on 1/20 vs. UCI)
1-Alec Flowers (10 on 1/20 vs. UCI)
Digs
1-Ian Colbert (10 on 1/21 at CUI)
1-Ryan Lew (16 on 1/20 vs. UCI)
Assists
6-Milosh Stojcic (Best of 43 on 1/20 vs. UCI; five with 20-plus and three with 30-plus)
Career
Kills
22-Tanner Syftestad (Best of 23 on 1/20/17 vs. UCI)
10-Ian Colbert (Best of 19 three times; last on 3/2/16 vs. PEP)
6-Alec Flowers (Best of 15 on 3/6/15 vs. CBU)
2-Shayne Beamer (Best of 14 on 1/10/15 at GCU)
2-Devin Pontigon (14 on 1/7/17 vs. GCU)
1-Luke La Mont (12 on 1/30/15 at BYU)
1-Josh Schmidt (10 on 1/27/16 vs. PRIN)
1-Bryan Zhu (11 on 3/2/16 vs. PEP)
Digs
5-Ian Colbert (Best of 11 on 1/27/16 vs. PRIN)
1-Ryan Blaich (10 on 3/5/16 vs. UCI)
1-Ryan Lew (16 on 1/20/17 vs. UCI)
1-Milosh Stojcic (10 on 1/23/16 at HNU)
1-Tanner Syftestad (10 on 1/7/15 at CUI)
Assists
47-Milosh Stojcic (Best of 49 on 2/5/16 vs. CBU; 24 with 20-plus and 11 with 30-plus)
11-Ryan Blaich (Best of 61 on 3/2/16 vs. PEP; six with 20-plus and four with 30-plus)
Total Blocks
1-Bryan Zhu (10 on 3/13/15 at STAN)
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRITONS
Four current Tritons have combined for seven double-doubles (none in 2017):
Ian Colbert (4)
1/23/16 at Holy Names (13 kills, 10 digs)
1/27/16 vs. Princeton (19 kills, 11 digs)
2/5/16 vs. California Baptist (17 kills, 10 digs)
3/5/16 vs. UC Irvine (10 kills, 10 digs)
Ryan Blaich (1)
3/5/16 vs. UC Irvine (49 assists, 10 digs)
Milosh Stojcic (1)
1/23/16 at Holy Names (31 assists, 10 digs)
Tanner Syftestad (1)
1/7/15 at Concordia (12 kills, 10 digs)
TRITONS AMONG STATISTICAL LEADERS
Through Jan. 24, Tanner Syftestad ranks 14th in the MPSF in kills per set (3.10), Milosh Stojcic is 10th in assists per set (8.14), and Ryan Lew is fourth in digs per set (2.29).
WEEKEND SUPERLATIVES
UCSD's 17-15 defeat in the decider on Jan. 20 against UC Irvine marks the longest fifth set in the MPSF this season ... Tanner Syftestad's match-high 23 kills were the most by a Triton since Johl Awerkamp put down 30 on April 5, 2013 ... Ryan Lew's match-best 16 digs against UCI were the most by a Triton since Tanner Howard's 19 on March 2, 2016 ... The Tritons' 3-2 win the next night at Concordia marked their first five-set victory since a home date with Princeton on Jan. 27, 2016 ... UCSD's 15.5 total team blocks against the Eagles are the most by an MPSF side in 2017, and the most for the Tritons since they combined for 20.0 in another five-set triumph at USC on March 16, 2013.
2017 SYNOPSIS
UC San Diego more than doubled its 2015 win output in 2016, from two to five. The 2017 edition is one of 12th-year head coach Kevin Ring's most experienced squads, with five starters back among 13 letterwinners. Top returners include fourth-year seniors Ian Colbert and Shayne Beamer, and junior opposite Tanner Syftestad. Colbert turned in a career year almost all across the board in 2016 as one of just two Tritons to start all 28 matches, with a team-best 233 kills. Syftestad was first in kills in 2015 (241) and second in 2016 (216). Beamer did not miss a match the last two seasons, with 117-plus kills in both, and led UCSD in total blocks as a junior.
COLBERT COMING OFF CAREER YEAR
Ian Colbert really stepped up in his junior campaign. The outside hitter out of Belmont in Northern California paced the Tritons in kills (233) and was second in digs (154) and third in aces (13). He had a team-best nine matches with double-figure kills, including a career-high 19 on three occasions. The middle one of those efforts came in just three frames at No. 5 Hawai'i (1/31), marking the most kills in a three-set match by a Triton since Frank Fritsch had 20 at No. 8 UCLA on Jan. 23, 2009, when sets went to 30 points. Colbert also posted his first four double-doubles.
UCSD CAPTAINS
Team tri-captains for the 2017 season were designated as fourth-year outside hitters Ian Colbert and Calvin Manchenko, and junior opposite Tanner Syftestad. Syftestad is a two-time captain.
UNIQUE STORIES IN TRITON LINEUP
• Tanner Syftestad is a third-year Triton who transferred after spending 2013-14 as a true freshman playing club volleyball at Chico State, which does not sponsor intercollegiate men's volleyball. The Sacramento native appeared in 55 of 56 matches his first two seasons, starting 52 of them at opposite and producing double-figure kill totals in 20. Syftestad led UCSD in kills (241), aces (15) and total blocks (75) in 2015, and was second in all three categories (216-15-44) in 2016.
• Alec Flowers was serving as a team manager to begin his freshman year in 2015 while slated to redshirt, before joining the active roster, making his college debut on Feb. 13, and ultimately starting nine of the final 10 matches at outside hitter. He had team bests of 15 kills and seven digs in his first start that March 6.
TRITON NOTES
UCSD is 0-3 in three-set matches, 0-1 in four sets and 1-1 in five-setters in 2017 ... UCSD's schedule features 13 of 27 matches at home, as well as a March trip to Columbus, Ohio, to face defending national champion Ohio State and Ball State ... The Tritons are now 4-8 in season openers under Kevin Ring ... Devin Pontigon (1/9) and Ryan Lew (1/23) have picked up Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week honorable mentions this season ... UCSD was picked 12th in the MPSF preseason coaches' poll, with BYU the favorite ... Tanner Syftestad was one of 17 standouts around the country named to the preseason watch list for the third annual Bryan Ivie Award, presented by Off the Block to the best opposite in NCAA Division I-II ... Of the Tritons' six matches, Pontigon had at least a share of the team high in kills in each of the first four, before Syftestad led all players in the last two ... A league-high seven Tritons earned MPSF All-Academic distinction in 2016, including returners Ian Colbert, Alec Flowers, Luke McDonald, Milosh Stojcic and Bryan Zhu, with Colbert and Zhu now two-time honorees.
ROSTER NOTES
Of the 22 players on UCSD's roster, 21 are from California, with fourth-year outside hitter Calvin Manchenko a native of Melville, N.Y. ... UCSD has 14 returners, 13 of whom saw action a season ago, and eight newcomers ... Four Tritons have made their college debut in true freshmen Ryan Lew, Bailey Militar and Devin Pontigon, and redshirt freshman Xander Jimenez ... There are two San Diego products in Pontigon (Oceanside/El Camino HS), an outside hitter, and redshirt junior middle Bryan Zhu (Rancho Bernardo HS) ... Former UCLA and U.S. national team standout Nick Vogel is in his first year on the coaching staff, and has taken over as the top assistant, with UCSD graduate Paul Warren in his 11th season on the Triton bench.
HEAD COACH KEVIN RING
Kevin Ring is in his 12th season in charge at his alma mater. The 2009 MPSF Coach of the Year, he has a 78-241 overall record at the helm. Before being elevated to the head position on June 15, 2005, Ring spent nine years as an assistant for the UCSD men's squad. He got his start in La Jolla 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 U.S. 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, and aided women's national team head coach Karch Kiraly and his staff in preparing Team USA for the 2016 Rio Olympics. 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. In the December 2015 issue of Volleyball Magazine, Ring appeared at No. 10 in a listing of the top head coaches in college men's volleyball, as voted by his peers.
ABOUT THE ROYALS
Hope International (4-2) is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The Royals are coming off of a straight-set loss (25-22, 25-21, 25-17) on Wednesday night in their 2017 road debut at Concordia Irvine. They still play at No. 15 CSUN on Friday night before heading south into La Jolla to round out a busy week. HIU was ranked in a tie for eighth in the latest NAIA poll on Jan. 10 as its lone California representative. Henry Valiente, Jr., is in his first season as the head coach of his alma mater.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD holds a perfect 8-0 advantage in the all-time series, with the teams having not met since a 3-0 Triton win in Fullerton on Feb. 22, 2013. The sides faced off each season between 2007 and 2013, including twice in 2008. The Tritons are 4-0 in La Jolla. The 2012 matchup in Fullerton ended 3-2 in favor of the Tritons with set scores of 22-25, 25-13, 18-25, 25-13 and 15-12. It marked the first and only time that the Royals managed to win a set against UCSD.
ABOUT THE TIGERS
Princeton (2-2, 0-0 EIVA) is a member of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). The Tigers' season began with a tournament (1-2) in Honolulu, Hawaii, ahead of a 3-0 sweep of North Greenville in their home opener on Jan. 12. Idle since due to final exams, Princeton plays at No. 2 UCLA on Sunday before its date with UCSD on Wednesday. The Tigers round out their California trip at Concordia on Feb. 3. Four of the 13 players on its 2017 roster, including junior outside hitter Kendall Ratter out of nearby Encinitas (La Costa Canyon HS), hail from California. Sam Shweisky, the head coach of the USA Boys' Youth National Team, is in his eighth season at the Princeton helm.
SERIES HISTORY
UCSD leads the all-time series, 15-6. The teams most recently met in La Jolla on Jan. 27, 2016, with the Tritons rallying from 2-1 down to take a five-set decision. On Jan. 28, 2015, it was the Tigers leaving town with a straight-set victory, 25-18, 29-27 and 25-14. Before that, early in the 2013 season on Jan. 30, the Tritons won 3-1. UCSD previously dropped a five-set affair on Feb. 1, 2012, also at RIMAC Arena, after leading two sets to none.
ABOUT THE TROJANS
USC (2-5, 1-3 MPSF) is receiving votes just outside of the top 15 in Monday's latest national poll. The Trojans have dropped three straight since a 3-1 home upset of then-third-ranked Long Beach State in their MPSF opener on Jan. 11. They are 1-1 at home. USC is only two contests into a season-long five-match road stretch prior to welcoming in the Tritons on Feb. 4. The Trojans still play at No. 8 Stanford on Thursday night, No. 9 Pepperdine on Saturday afternoon and No. 7 UC Irvine on Feb. 3. Second-year head coach Jeff Nygaard starred at UCLA as a collegian, and was a three-time Olympian as well as an accomplished professional beach player.
SERIES HISTORY
USC leads the all-time series, 44-8, including wins of 3-1 in La Jolla and 3-0 at home a year ago to give the Trojans three straight season sweeps. Five of those six matchups ended 3-0. It was UCSD that took both ends of the series in 2013, for the first time in program history. The Tritons produced their first-ever three-set sweep of the Trojans at RIMAC Arena in both teams' 2013 conference opener on Jan. 10. That result snapped a seven-match win streak in the series for USC. UCSD then edged the Trojans in a thriller at USC's Lyon Center, 3-2, on March 16, out-blocking the home side, 20.0-13.0. Of the Tritons' eight all-time wins over the Trojans, four each have come in La Jolla and Los Angeles.
GEAR UP
For the latest in Triton athletic gear, make sure to visit ucsdtritonsgear.com. Run by UCSD Athletics' online partner, Advanced-Online, the site provides an on-demand option for Triton athletic apparel and merchandise. Fans have access to over 600 products that can be processed and shipped within 24 hours.
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are in eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UCSD home athletic events, and much more!
SOCIAL MEDIA (#AllForOne)
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UP NEXT
UCSD has a light slate next week, staying in non-conference play to host Hope International of Fullerton inside RIMAC Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m.
#AllForOne
