ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Wyatt Harrison put away a career high 27 kills to lead the University of California San Diego men's volleyball team to a five set win over McKendree Saturday afternoon at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University. Scores were 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-17, and 15-8.
UC San Diego won all three of its matches in the Midwest and improved to 6-2 on the year. The Tritons also earned victories against Lindenwood (3-2) and Quincy (3-0) while in Missouri.
"It was a great team victory, a gritty victory," said UC San Diego head coach Kevin Ring. "I'm really proud of how hard the guys fought. We were down big at times, but we made runs late and that set the tone for the next set."
Harrison, a junior, was a force from the outside, hitting .553 (27-1-47) and eclipsing his previous career best of 23 kills, which he set in 2019. He totaled 31 points, also a career high, by adding three service aces (tied a career high) and two block assists. He also checked in with three digs and an assist.
Junior outside hitter Kyle McCauley racked up 15 kills while sophomore opposite Berkeley Miesfeld set a foursome of career bests with nine kills, nine digs, a .353 hitting percentage, and 12 points. Setter Connor Walbrecht, one of just two seniors on this year's squad, also boarded the career high train by finishing with 57 assists. His 13 digs matched his career best. Libero Ryan Lew, the other senior Triton, led all players with 16 digs.
As a team, UC San Diego hit .248 with 64 kills and 27 errors in 149 attack attempts. On the other side of the net, the Bearcats had 11 fewer kills and hit just .155 (53-30-148).
McKendree, which fell to 3-4 with the loss, got 16 kills from Zach Schnittker, but he also had 11 attack errors in 50 swings.
Both teams received votes in this week's AVCAÂ National Top-15 Poll.
"Heading into this week, we knew we had three matches in three days and we really took this as a prelude to the Big West Tournament, which is set up exactly the same way," said Ring.Â
UC San Diego now returns to the West Coast to host 13th ranked Princeton on Tuesday, Jan. 28 (6 p.m.), followed by Concordia Irvine on Friday, Jan. 31 (7 p.m.). Both contests will be broadcast live by ESPN3.
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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For complete coverage and information regarding UC San Diego Athletics, follow the Tritons online at UCSDTritons.com and through social media on Twitter (@UCSDTritons), Instagram (@UCSDTritons) and Facebook (UCSDTritons). To stay tuned in to UC San Diego Men's Volleyball, follow the team's Instagram (@UCSDmvb)Â or visit the Tritons on Twitter (@UCSDmvb).
