PHOENIX - A classic back and forth battle saw the University of California San Diego men's volleyball team edged, 3-1, in a non-conference match at Grand Canyon Saturday night. Scores at GCU Arena were 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, and 29-27.

Following the loss in its first road match of the season, UC San Diego dropped to 3-2. GCU is also 3-2.

"It was a tough loss tonight but it was a very good fight by both sides," said UC San Diego head coach Kevin Ring.

The match featured 41 tie scores.

In the opening set, UC San Diego owned a 20-16 lead before Grand Canyon mounted a 9-0 run to win it.

After staying tight early on in the second set, the Tritons used a four point run to go up by a score of 20-14. Collin Shannon, Shane Benetz, and Wyatt Harrison each had a kill during the run. At 22-16, UC San Diego won three of the final four points to win the frame and even the contest at 1-1.

"It was definitely disappointing to lose that first set when we were up late, but I thought we responded really well in set two," said Ring. 

It was close most of the way in the third set. At 20-20, the Antelopes took five of the next seven points for the win and a 2-1 led in the match. Christian Janke registered a pair of kills down the stretch.

"It was back and forth and back and forth through the whole set," said Ring. "It was all about who was going to make a run late."

Tied 17-17 in the fourth set, GCU scored three consecutive points. However, UC San Diego responded to win seven of the next nine points and take a 24-22 advantage. Grand Canyon turned aside those two set points on back to back kills and erased another at 25-24 when two more kills put them in front, 26-25. A double block by Benetz and Connor Walbrecht brought it to 26-26 and then the squads traded service errors, making it 27-27. A kill by Ian McLain and a double block by Kyle Thompson and Hugo Fischer allowed the Antelopes to take the set and the 3-1 match victory.

"Again, back and forth in the fourth set," said Ring. "We gave ourselves some chances."

For UC San Diego, Kyle McCauley, the reigning AVCA National Player of the Week and Big West Conference Player of the Week, finished with a match high 17 kills on a .324 hitting percentage. Benetz totaled 11 kills with a .474 attack as well as five blocks, and Harrison put away 10 kills on a .360 attack. Walbrecht had 40 assists, eight digs, three blocks, and two aces, while Shannon had a team best nine digs to go along with seven kills and three blocks.

The Tritons hit .340 (50-14-106) and have now swung at .338 or better in four of five matches.

A big factor in the match was the serving game. Both teams combined for 40 serve errors - 21 for Grand Canyon and 19 for UC San Diego. The Tritons had just three aces and the 'Lopes had seven.

"I thought we played well, but we just weren't able to turn the tide in our favor," said Ring.

GCU hit .313 (54-18-115). Janke contributed 14 kills, Camden Gianni 13, and McClain 12. Gianni also had four aces, while Cole Udall led all players on defense with 10 digs.

UC San Diego heads to the Midwest next week to play three matches at Lindenwood in St. Charles, Missouri. On Jan. 23, the Tritons take on Lindenwood before playing Quincy on Jan. 24 and McKendree on Jan. 25.

About UC San Diego Athletics
With 30 national team championships, nearly 150 individual titles, and the top student-athlete graduation rate among Division II institutions in the United States, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program annually ranks as one of the most successful in the country. The Tritons sponsor 23 intercollegiate sport programs that compete on the NCAA Division I and II levels and, in the summer of 2020, will transition into full Division I status as a member of the Big West Conference. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's pre-eminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent. A total of 82 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships. In competition, almost 1,400 UC San Diego scholar-athletes have earned All-America honors.

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