LOS ANGELES - The sixth-ranked University of California San Diego men's volleyball team ran into a tough 12-ranked UCLA squad Saturday and lost, 3-1, in a non-conference match at the John Wooden Center. Scores went 25-16, 23-25, 25-19, and 25-21.

With its second-straight loss, UC San Diego fell to 13-5 on the season. UCLA improved to 10-9.

The Bruins had a potent attack and block. They hit .427 on the night, producing 45 kills with just 10 errors in 82 attack attempts. It is the best hitting percentage any opponent has put up against the Tritons this season by far, the previous high being .313. In addition, they held a 12.5 to 3 advantage in blocks. It was a season-low stuff count for UC San Diego.

Kyle McCauley had 14 kills for the Tritons, while Shane Benetz had eight and Wyatt Harrison added seven. Logan Clark had an effective night on offense, hitting .857 with six kills and zero errors in seven swings. Setter Connor Walbrecht totaled 35 assists and put down all three of the team's service aces. Libero Ryan Lew led all players with nine digs.

The teams combined for 51 errors from the service line, 27 for UCLA and 24 for UC San Diego.

Daenan Gyimah was a force for UCLA, logging 16 kills on a .625 (16-1-24) hitting percentage. He also had five block assists. Alex Knight came to the block party as well, finishing with five, two of those of the solo variety. Matthew Younggren had nine kills and Mads Kyed Jensen had three aces. 

The teams split the season series as the Tritons swept the Bruins on Jan. 17 at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla. UCLA was ranked No. 3 in the country at that time.

UC San Diego, which entered the week riding a six-match win streak, will look to get back in the victory column on Wednesday, March 11, when it hosts No. 8 Penn State at 7 p.m. The Nittany Lions are 11-6 overall and a perfect 7-0 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA). The contest will be broadcast live by ESPN3.

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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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