IRVINE, Calif. - The University of California San Diego men's volleyball team upset another nationally-ranked foe Tuesday night, sweeping No. 14 Concordia Irvine on the road by scores of 25-17, 25-22, and 25-20.
UC San Diego, which was ranked 15th last week and receiving votes in this week's poll, improved to 8-3 on the season. The Tritons avenged a recent loss to CUI as the Eagles took a 3-1 win at RIMAC Arena on Jan. 31.
"Coming into this match, we really wanted to get back to playing our brand of volleyball," said UC San Diego head coach Kevin Ring. "I thought the guys got off to a great start and although we missed a few more serves than we would have liked, we put on some really good service pressure and gave them a little bit of trouble. We held a lot of their attackers in check and we picked up our play from there."
UC San Diego hit .258Â and held Concordia to an .080 hitting percentage, much of that due to a strong Triton block as they held a 13-9 advantage at the net. They were also solid on the defensive side, finishing with 33 digs to the Eagles' 26.
For the ninth time in 11 matches, outside hitter Kyle McCauley finished with a double digit kill total, leading the team with 11. He hit .429 and had a match best 11 digs. Opposite Collin Shannon paced the Tritons with 12 points on nine kills, four block assists, and a service ace. He had nine digs and hit .400. Middle blocker Shane Benetz and outside Wyatt Harrison each had seven kills with Benetz amassing nine blocks (one solo). Setter Connor Walbrecht continued his outstanding play with 33 assists, seven blocks, four digs, and three kills.
UC San Diego had just once service ace with 15 errors at the line, while CUI also had a single ace and committed 13 errors.
Raymond Barsemian led all players with 14 kills for Concordia, which fell to 5-4 with the loss.
The Tritons have now defeated four nationally-ranked teams this season. In addition to Concordia, they downed No. 3 UCLA, No. 11 Loyola Chicago, and No. 13 Princeton.Â
UC San Diego returns home to host USC (2-7) Thursday at 7 p.m.
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).
