THE SCHEDULE
Match 20
at No. 5 UC Irvine (14-5, 1-1 Big West)
Thursday, March 15 • 7 p.m.
Bren Events Center • Irvine
Live Video • Live Stats • Tickets

Match 21
vs. No. 5 UC Irvine (14-5, 1-1 Big West)
Friday, March 16 • 7 p.m.
RIMAC Arena • La Jolla
Live Video • Live Stats • Tickets

TRITONS BEGIN FINAL STRETCH OF EIGHT TILTS AGAINST TOP-10 BIG WEST FOES
The University of California San Diego men's volleyball program has concluded non-conference play, and faces a more daunting task than normal in the weeks ahead. The Tritons (9-10, 0-2 Big West) will contest their final eight regular-season matches against four Big West Conference foes, all of whom are currently ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation. The stretch begins with a home-and-home series this week against No. 5 UC Irvine (14-5, 1-1 Big West). The first meeting is inside the Bren Events Center in Irvine on Thursday, March 15, with the sides squaring off again this Friday, March 16, inside RIMAC Arena on North Campus in La Jolla. First serve for both contests is set for 7 p.m. UC San Diego is an even 5-5 at home and 4-5 outside of La Jolla in 2018.

MATCH COVERAGE
All 13 UC San Diego home matches in 2018 feature live online video on UCSDtritons.tv. Broadcasts are in high definition, generally with multiple cameras, and can be viewed from smartphones and tablets alongside desktop and laptop computers. Local media personality Miles Himmel (@mileshimmel) is the primary play-by-play voice. Back again as the primary analyst is 1988 Olympic gold medalist, UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame setter, beach legend and current UC San Diego women's volleyball head coach Ricci Luyties. Events are archived. This season, viewing will be free, with no login required, and can also be accessed via BigWest.TV. All contests, home and away, have live stats. A majority of road dates also have video, including this Thursday at UC Irvine. 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.

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. UC San Diego students and kids under seven years of age are admitted free. Tickets are available at the RIMAC Arena box office on the night of the match, starting one hour prior to first serve. Parking permits are required on the UC San Diego 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 for Saturday contests.

#BIGWESTBOUND
The UC San Diego men's volleyball program joined the Big West Conference as an associate member when the league announced on May 31, 2016, that it was adding men's volleyball as its 18th sponsored sport, for the 2018 season. On Nov. 27, 2017, UC San Diego was officially invited to become a member of the NCAA Division I Big West. The Tritons will begin a four-year reclassification period starting in the fall of 2020. They will play a full Big West schedule that season and will continue to be eligible for National Collegiate championships in men's volleyball, men's and women's water polo, and fencing. For the 2024-25 academic year, all sports will be eligible to compete in Big West and NCAA Division I championships. Read the full press release here.

#BWCMVB AT A GLANCE
UC San Diego Men's Volleyball began a brand-new era this January with the start of the inaugural year of the Big West Conference. UCSD is an associate member after 25 seasons in the MPSF, joined by full Big West members CSUN, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, UC Irvine and UC Santa Barbara, all of whom have also moved over from the MPSF, to give the Big West the minimum six teams necessary to maintain an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament. All six squads will make the Big West Tournament, to be held this first season at LBSU's Walter Pyramid, April 19-21. That means that UC San Diego is assured its first postseason match since winning the Molten Division III invitational national championship in 2000. The top two seeds will earn a bye into the semifinals on April 20. The winner of the Big West Tournament on April 21, will be one of the seven teams participating in the 2018 National Collegiate Championship. All five matches of the inaugural Big West Tournament will air live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.

POLL NOTES
UC San Diego was one of four teams receiving votes outside of the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I-II Men's Coaches Top 15 Poll on Dec. 7, and remained as such in each of the first five in-season releases before dropping out on Feb. 12 following two losses the previous week. It was the first time since 2014 that the Tritons gained mention in the AVCA's preseason edition. UC San Diego is ranked No. 4 in the second-year Off the Block (OTB)/Springbak, Inc. Division II National Coaches Poll. In the first-year VolleyMob Men's Power Rankings, UCSD was the preseason No. 20, and moved up to No. 19 on Jan. 8, No. 18 on Jan. 15, and No. 16 on Jan. 22. They were No. 24 in OTB's preseason power poll.

UC SAN DIEGO IN THE AVCA POLL
• March 12: NR
• March 5: NR
• Feb. 26: RV
• Feb. 19: NR
• Feb. 12: NR
• Feb. 5: RV
• Jan. 29: RV
• Jan. 22: RV
• Jan. 15: RV
• Jan. 8: RV
• Dec. 7 (Preseason): RV

LAST TIME OUT
UC San Diego split a non-conference pair last week, winning 3-1 at home over USC on Wednesday, March 7, before going down in four sets at Stanford on Friday night. It was a second straight triumph for the Tritons over the Trojans. UCSD took the first set at Stanford.

HARRISON IS UC SAN DIEGO'S FIRST BIG WEST FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Wyatt Harrison, an outside hitter out of Kilauea, Hawaii, earned the distinction on Monday of becoming UC San Diego's first-ever student-athlete to be named Big West Conference Freshman of the Week. Harrison put down 12 kills on .435 hitting (12-2-23) in a 3-1 home win over USC on March 7, and 10 more at a .533 clip (10-2-15), with three service aces, in a four-set loss at Stanford two nights later. He started out 9-0-9 offensively in that match over the first three frames. Harrison has posted seven matches in double-figure kills as a rookie, including three straight.

GREAT START
UC San Diego was 7-3 after 10 matches for the first time in program history, beginning with the 1989 campaign. The Tritons opened up a perfect 3-0 for the first time since 1996. The Tritons have only been at .500 or better through 10 contests four other times, in 1996 (6-4) when they started 6-0 before dropping the next eight, as well as in 2017 (5-5), 2004 (5-5) and 1989 (5-5). The six teams of the brand-new Big West Conference have combined to go 72-30 (.706), taking up three of the top five spots in the latest AVCA poll, led by undefeated unanimous No. 1 Long Beach State (17-0). The Tritons' nine wins are their most since the 2012 campaign.

SYFTESTAD MOVING THROUGH UCSD RANKS
Late in the fourth set of the Feb. 3 home loss to Stanford, Tanner Syftestad became just the sixth player in program history to reach 1000 kills. Having put down the kill that gave fellow fourth-year senior Milosh Stojcic his 2000th assist just eight days prior, Syftestad converted on the Stojcic assist for his 16h of 17 kills on the night, and No. 1000 as a Triton, for a 19-16 lead in that fourth frame. Sitting fifth now with 1161, Syftestad is fourth in attacks (2829), and third in service aces (84).

STOJCIC SETTING HIMSELF UP CAREER CHART
Senior setter Milosh Stojcic is No. 4 all-time at UC San Diego with 2426 career assists. Assist number 2000 came on Jan. 26 at Grand Canyon, as Tanner Syftestad's kill to pull the Tritons within one at 10-9 in the opening set gave Stojcic his necessary sixth assist of the contest. He thus became only the sixth Triton to achieve 2000 assists. The Redondo Beach native surpassed the 1000 mark at UCLA on Jan. 14, 2017. Stojcic was the lone Triton to start all 27 matches a year ago, and was the only one to start the first 18 contests in 2018 before having to sit out at Stanford last Friday due to an injury suffered late in the USC match.

SYFTESTAD SUPERLATIVES
Tanner Syftestad leads all of NCAA Division I-II offensively in kills (4.76), points (5.58) and attacks (10.37) per set. He is 28th in hitting percentage (.326), 41st in aces per set (0.366) and 48th in blocks per set (0.845). Syftestad has accounted for the third-biggest (tied) kill output of the 2018 season nationally, three times in fact, with his 27 from the five-set season-opening win over McKendree, four-set victory over Ottawa (AZ), and five-set loss at Concordia. Those performances are tied for second-best in the Big West. He ranks first with his career-high 66 attacks at McKendree (2/16), with four other 50-plus efforts.

OTHER NATIONAL STATISTICAL LEADERS
Milosh Stojcic is ninth in assists per set (10.09). Fellow seniors Alec Flowers and Bryan Zhu are 13th (1.074) and 37th (0.925), respectively, in blocks per set. UC San Diego as a team is seventh in digs per set (9.92), leading the Big West. The Tritons are sixth in assists (11.88) and attacks (28.84) per set, and eighth in kills per set (12.51). For single matches, Drew Sloane's career-high 10 total blocks (1/27 vs. OUAZ) is tied for fifth nationally, with Alec Flowers' .900 (9-0-10) attack percentage (1/19 vs. UCSC) tied for third.

STELLAR WEEKLY AWARDS HAUL FOR SYFTESTAD
On Jan. 8, senior captain Tanner Syftestad was named the first-ever Big West Conference Men's Volleyball Player of the Week following an incredible weekend during the first-year league's opening. He totaled 49 kills, or a conference-best average of 5.44 per set, while hitting an efficient .361 as an opposite. Syftestad put down match highs of 27 kills in five sets against McKendree on Jan. 5, and 22 more in four against King the next day. On Jan. 9, he became the first Triton to be chosen Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's Player of the Week, since Vaun Lennon on April 3, 2012, and just the fourth in program history. Syftestad also picked up VolleyMob Player of the Week honorable mention. He later on Jan. 23 became the first Triton named VolleyMob Player of the Week.

DOUBLE-FIGURE TRITONS
2018
Kills
18-Tanner Syftestad (Best of 27 on 1/5 vs. MU, 1/27 vs. OUAZ and 2/9 at CUI)
7-Wyatt Harrison (16 on 2/16 at MU)
1-Xander Jimenez (11 on 2/16 at MU)
1-Luke La Mont (10 on 1/20 vs. CUI)

Digs
5-Ryan Lew (13 on 1/6 vs. KU, 2/16 at MU and 3/7 vs. USC)
4-Tanner Syftestad (15 on 2/23 at UCSB)
3-Milosh Stojcic (13 on 2/9 at CUI)
2-Nathan Thalken (Best of 11 on 1/5 vs. MU)
1-Thomas DeStefano (10 on 2/9 at CUI)
1-Xander Jimenez (13 on 2/16 at MU)

Assists
17-Milosh Stojcic (best of 56 on 2/16 at MU)
4-Connor Walbrecht (41 on 2/23 at UCSB)

Blocks
1-Drew Sloane (10 on 1/27 vs. OUAZ)

Career
Kills
55-Tanner Syftestad (Best of 31 on 1/28/17 vs. HIU; 15 with 20-plus and one with 30-plus)
7-Wyatt Harrison (16 on 2/16/18 at MU)
6-Alec Flowers (Best of 15 on 3/6/15 vs. CBU)
2-Xander Jimenez (Best of 11 on 1/28/17 vs. HIU and 2/16/18 at MU)
2-Luke La Mont (Best of 12 on 1/30/15 at BYU)
2-Bryan Zhu (Best of 11 on 3/2/16 vs. PEP)
1-Nathan Thalken (11 on 4/1/17 at STAN)

Digs
10-Ryan Lew (Best of 20 on 1/28/17 vs. HIU)
6-Milosh Stojcic (Best of 13 on 2/9/18 at CUI)
5-Tanner Syftestad (Best of 15 on 2/23/18 at UCSB)
2-Xander Jimenez (13 on 2/16/18 at MU)
2-Nathan Thalken (Best of 11 on 1/5/18 vs. MU)
1-Thomas DeStefano (10 on 2/9/18 at CUI)

Assists
85-Milosh Stojcic (Best of 56 on 1/28/17 vs. HIU and 2/16/18 at MU; 60 with 20-plus, 36 with 30+, 17 with 40+ and four with 50+)
4-Connor Walbrecht (41 on 2/23/18 at UCSB)

Total Blocks
1-Drew Sloane (10 on 1/27/18 vs. OUAZ)
1-Bryan Zhu (10 on 3/13/15 at STAN)

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TRITONS
Three current Tritons have combined for 12 career double-doubles, with eight this season:

Milosh Stojcic (6)
2/9/18 at Concordia (51 assists, 13 digs)
2/8/18 vs. BYU (39 assists, 11 digs)
1/26/18 at Grand Canyon (37 assists, 10 digs)
3/17/17 vs. Concordia (52 assists, 10 digs)
3/11/17 vs. Ball State (16 assists, 11 digs)
1/23/16 at Holy Names (31 assists, 10 digs)

Tanner Syftestad (5)
2/23/18 at UC Santa Barbara (20 kills, 15 digs)
2/9/18 at Concordia (27 kills, 11 digs)
1/27/18 vs. Ottawa (AZ) (27 kills, 12 digs)
1/20/18 vs. Concordia (24 kills, 11 digs)
1/7/15 at Concordia (12 kills, 10 digs)

Xander Jimenez (1)
2/16/18 at McKendree (11 kills, 13 digs)

KEVIN RING SEASON OUTLOOK QUOTES
(On the season) "We return a number of key players from last year's squad, so we are looking to build upon our performance from last season. We've got a motivated group of student-athletes, with a strong senior class, looking to make this our best season ever. I think we have the chance to do that. I look at the season in three segments: 1) non-conference match schedule, 2) Big West Conference regular-season schedule and 3) Big West Conference Tournament. Our goal is to grow as a team so that we gain valuable experience as we head into each new segment of the season, with the ultimate goal to be playing our best volleyball in the Big West Tournament."

(On joining the Big West for men's volleyball) "I am extremely excited about the inaugural Big West men's volleyball season. We've got a group of coaches within the Big West, along with the conference office, committed to being the top men's volleyball conference in the country. Every match we play leading up to our Big West schedule will be important for the strength of the conference, but the real excitement begins when we open up conference play. UCSD Men's Volleyball, players and coaches alike, are thrilled to be the first program at UCSD to compete within the Big West Conference and represent our school."

2018 SYNOPSIS
Back for UC San Diego head coach Kevin Ring in 2018 are his starting setter, Milosh Stojcic, primary libero, Ryan Lew, and senior opposite hitter Tanner Syftestad, who earned Off the Block's very first Division II National Player of the Year award, as well as VolleyballMag.com All-America honorable mention and All-MPSF Second Team selection. The now-third-year team captain had a tremendous junior campaign with team bests of 366 kills (4.21 per set), 28 aces and 62 total blocks, to go along with 102 digs. Stojcic was the only Triton to start all 27 matches and produced 9.08 assists per set and 107 digs. As a true freshman, Lew paced the squad with 154 digs, averaging two per set. Coming off a 2017 season in which it posted a five-match win streak that included triumphs at USC and at home against Princeton and CSUN, UC San Diego's 2018 schedule features 13 of 27 matches in La Jolla. The Tritons opened the campaign at UCLA's Wooden Classic Tournament, and also traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., and St. Louis, Mo. Their 10-match Big West slate began at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 23.

SCINTILLATING SEASON FOR SYFTESTAD
Tanner Syftestad was outstanding a season ago. The opposite hitter out of Sacramento led the Tritons in kills (366), aces (28) and total blocks (62). Syftestad averaged a remarkable 4.21 kills per set, which ranked fifth in the nation. He was also third in points (4.92) and attacks (9.33) per set. Syftestad had a team-best 17 matches with double-figure kills, including a career-high 31 at home against Hope International on Jan. 28 in the middle of an incredible five-match stretch of kill totals of 20-plus. He held at least a share of the team lead in kills in 20 of the 25 matches he appeared in.

UC SAN DIEGO CAPTAINS
Team tri-captains for the 2018 season were designated as seniors Alec Flowers, Luke La Mont and Tanner Syftestad. Syftestad is now a three-year captain, while Flowers and La Mont are first-timers.

UNIQUE STORIES IN TRITON LINEUP
• Tanner Syftestad is a fourth-year Triton who 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 Sacramento native appeared in 80 of 83 matches his first three seasons, starting 76 of them at opposite and producing double-figure kill totals in 37. Syftestad led UC San Diego in kills (241), aces (15) and total blocks (75) in 2015, and was second in all three categories (216-15-44) in 2016. He returned to the top rung in all three (366-28-62) in 2017.
• 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 on March 6, 2015, and is now a senior captain.

TRITON NOTES
UC San Diego's schedule has 13 of 27 matches at home for the second straight year ... The Tritons are 3-3 in three-set matches, 5-5 in four-set matches and 1-2 in five-setters in 2018 ... Wyatt Harrison has earned three Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Freshman of the Week honorable menions (1/22, 2/5 and 3/12) ... UC San Diego is 5-8 in openers under Kevin Ring following the five-set triumph over McKendree (IL) at UCLA's Wooden Classic Tournament on Jan. 5, which marked the Tritons' first season-opening success away from home since 2013 ... UC San Diego was picked sixth in the first Big West preseason coaches' poll, with 2017 MPSF champion and national semifinalist Long Beach State the favorite ... For the second year in a row, Tanner Syftestad was one of 15 standouts around the country named to the preseason watch list for the fourth annual Bryan Ivie Award, presented by Off the Block to the best opposite in NCAA Division I-II ... UC San Diego led the MPSF for a second straight year with a program-record nine MPSF All-Academic distinctions in 2017 (seven in 2016), including returners Alec Flowers, Xander Jimenez, Luke McDonald, Milosh Stojcic, Nathan Thalken and Bryan Zhu, with Zhu now a three-time honoree, and Flowers, McDonald and Stojcic repeat selections.

ROSTER NOTES
Of the 23 players on UC San Diego's 2018 roster, 20 hail from California, with the lone exceptions being true freshmen Gabe Avillion (State College, PA), Wyatt Harrison (Kilauea, HI) and Macune Gilruth (Nairobi, Kenya) ... UCSD has 13 returners, 11 of whom saw action a season ago with two redshirt freshmen, and 10 newcomers, all true freshmen ... Of those 10 true freshmen, three made their college debuts in the opening weekend in Bryce Curtis, Thomas DeStefano and Wyatt Harrison, with Collin Shannon added to the mix in the Jan. 11 home opener, alongside redshirt freshman Vlad Pesic with the start at a middle blocker spot ... The lone San Diego product is fifth-year senior middle blocker Bryan Zhu (Rancho Bernardo HS).

HEAD COACH KEVIN RING
Kevin Ring is in his 13th season in charge at his alma mater. The 2009 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Coach of the Year, he has a 93-266 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 ANTEATERS
No. 5 UC Irvine (14-5, 1-1 Big West) is a winner of three straight, all non-conference sweeps, including a triumph over George Mason on Tuesday night. The Anteaters are 6-3 at home and 8-2 outside of Irvine in 2018. They were favored for a share of third place in the preseason coaches' poll. David Kniffin is in his sixth year in charge at his alma mater. He guided the 'Eaters to the 2013 national crown in his first go-around.

SERIES HISTORY
UC Irvine leads the all-time series, 43-10, and has taken the last 13 meetings dating back to a 3-1 UCSD triumph in Irvine on Jan. 12, 2011. The Anteaters have won 3-0 at home in each of the past four seasons, including in the Tritons' 2017 opener on Jan. 5. The most recent meeting saw a five-set thriller in La Jolla go to the visitors on Jan. 20, 2017. It marked a second straight five-setter at RIMAC Arena, both with UCSD rallying from a 2-0 deficit before falling in the decisive frame. Previously, the 'Eaters pulled out another five-set affair at the Bren Events Center after UCSD had taken the first two frames on March 31, 2013.

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
UC San Diego Athletics on Facebook (UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on Instagram (@UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on Twitter (@UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on YouTube (UCSDathletics)
UC San Diego Men's Volleyball on Instagram (@ucsdmvb)

UP NEXT
UC San Diego is off next week for final exams, before heading to Honolulu, Hawaii, for its two-match Big West series at No. 3 Hawai'i on Friday, March 30, and Saturday, March 31. Both first serves at the Stan Sheriff Center are set for 10 p.m. PT.

#BigWestBound