LA JOLLA, Calif. - It was a classic case of flipping the script for the 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team as it downed No. 12 UC Irvine in five sets Friday night at RIMAC Arena.
Scores were 25-16, 24-26, 28-26, 21-25, and 15-7. The Tritons earned their first victory of the season to improve to 1-5 overall and 1-1 in Big West Conference play. The Anteaters carry an identical record after tonight's loss.
Thursday night in Orange County, it was UC Irvine that came out on top in five sets. The Anteaters dominated at the net, holding an 18.5 to 5.5 advantage in blocks. They also put up a .319 attack to the Tritons' .152.
Tonight, it was UC San Diego that racked up the big numbers, finishing with 13.5 blocks to UC Irvine's four. The Tritons came away with their best attack percentage of the season, hitting .326 (58-15-132) to the Anteaters' .289 (65-24-142).
As was the case Thursday, UC Irvine didn't help itself at the service line, getting just four aces against 25 errors. In contrast, UC San Diego also had four aces but committed just 14 errors.
Outside hitter
Ryan Ka (San Marcos/San Marcos HS) finished with a match-high 25 kills, setting a new career-best. His previous high mark was 19, established Thursday at UCI. Ka hit .385 (25-5-52) and had five blocks (one solo), also a career-high, and seven digs. For his performance, Ka was named the National Offensive Player of the Night by
Off the Block.
Getting in on the career-best party was setter
Blake Crisp, who had 51 assists, eclipsing his previous high of 50 which he set, you guessed it, Thursday at UC Irvine. Outside hitter
Kyle McCauley totaled 13 kills and a team-high 11 digs, while middle
Shane Benetz also found a double-figure kill total with 11. Benetz swung at .524 with no errors in 21 attempts and led all players with seven blocks (one solo).
For the Anteaters, Joel Schneidmiller settled for 17 kills after pounding a career-best 28 Thursday. Scott Stadick, the national leader in blocks in 2020, had one Friday after finishing with 12 a night before. He produced a .714 hitting percentage with 11 kills and a single error in 14 swings. Cole Gillis had 14 kills and Francesco Sani added 13. Akhil Tangutur's 19 digs led all players.
TRITON TIDBITS
• The last time UC San Diego played back-to-back five-set matches was in late January of 2017. In fact, the Tritons played three-straight fivers that season, the first being against UC Irvine.
• UC San Diego's 58 kills, 57 assists, 47 digs, 13.5 blocks, and 75.5 points were all season-highs.
•
Kyle McCauley leads the Tritons in point production (3.98/set) and is followed by
Ryan Ka (3.80/set).
• Yesterday (March 11) marked exactly one year since the Tritons swept Penn State at RIMAC Arena. That match proved to be the final NCAA event on campus until December of 2020 as the NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring championships on March 12.
• UC San Diego defeated UC Irvine twice in 2020, the first serving as the Tritons' inaugural Big West Conference victory.
•
Kyle McCauley has totaled at least 10 kills in all six of the Tritons' matches this season.
• UC San Diego was without senior outside hitter
Wyatt Harrison for the fifth consecutive match due to injury.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLES
UP NEXT
UC San Diego pauses play next week for final exams. The Tritons then travel to No. 1 Hawaii for Big West matches on Friday, March 26 and Saturday, March 27. Both of those contests are scheduled for 10 p.m. PDT. The Tritons and Warriors have met twice already this season with Hawaii winning both of the non-conference matches at RIMAC Arena in La Jolla.
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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 38 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.
Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.
