LA JOLLA, Calif. - In its first match in 350 days, the 11th-ranked University of California San Diego men's volleyball team was defeated in straights sets by No. 2 Hawaii Wednesday evening at RIMAC Arena.
Scores of the non-conference match went 25-20, 25-23, and 25-18 in favor of the Warriors, who improved to 3-0 on the young season. They were coming off a pair of victories at UC Irvine Sunday and Monday.
For the Tritons, All-American outside hitter
Kyle McCauley led the way offensively with 10 kills. Middle blocker
Logan Clark put down eight kills and opposite
Collin Shannon was just behind with seven. Clark finished with an .800 attack percentage with no errors in his 10 swings. He also had a pair of blocks, one solo. Setter
Blake Crisp had 26 assists. Defensively, libero
Matt Palma established a new career best with seven digs.
UC San Diego held a 25-16 advantage in digs.
Hawaii hit .432 (40-8-74) and finished with 11 blocks (two solos). Rado Parapunov, the reigning Big West Player of the Week, had a match-high 19.5 points on 12 kills, two aces, and nine blocks (two solos). Colton Cowell logged 11 kills, while Patrick Gasman finished with six kills, a .750 hitting percentage, and six block assists.Â
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TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego's last match before tonight was on March 11, 2020, a 3-0 sweep of Penn State at RIMAC Arena
• That match was the final NCAA competition on campus until Dec. 21, 2020 when the women's basketball team hosted California Baptist at RIMAC Arena
• SetterÂ
Will Campbell, who redshirted in 2020, saw his first collegiate playing time tonight, finishing with an assist and a pair of digs
• The last time the Tritons and Warriors had met was in late March of 2019 at RIMAC Arena
• The two teams were scheduled to meet on March 27 and March 28 of 2020 in Honolulu, but the NCAA canceled the remainder of its winter and spring championships on March 12Â
• In this season's Big West Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, Hawaii was picked to win the title and UC San Diego was fourth in the six-team league
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLES
UP NEXT
The two squads go at it again Thursday. The rematch is set for a 7 p.m. PT first serve from RIMAC Arena. All of the action can be followed with a
live broadcast on ESPN3 as well as
live stats.
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About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 37 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
