NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - A potent offense led the 13th-ranked University of California San Diego men's volleyball team to a straight-set victory over CSUN Friday night on the road.

Scores of the Big West Conference contest at the Matadome went 25-18, 25-14, and 25-23 in favor of the Tritons, who improved to 2-7 on the season and 2-3 in league play. The Matadors dropped to 1-4 overall and carry the same mark in the Big West.

UC San Diego hit .303 with 30 kills and 10 errors in 66 total attack attempts. It was the team's second-best hitting performance of the season. The offense was on point with 27 assists leading to the 30 kills, 26 of those helpers coming from setter Blake Crisp. The Tritons also held advantages in blocks (6-2) and digs (23-21).

Both teams had four service aces. UC San Diego was more efficient at the line with 12 service errors to CSUN's 17.

Middle blocker Logan Clark was solid, finishing with five kills and no errors on seven attempts for a .714 hitting percentage. He also had a match-best four blocks. Opposite Collin Shannon hit .545 with seven kills and one miscue in 11 swings. Outside hitter Kyle McCauley had nine kills, three aces, six digs, and a block. He also joined the hit parade, finishing at .412 with two errors in 17 attack attempts. Libero Matt Palma led all players with eight digs.

CSUN struggled on offense, recording a paltry .072 attack with 28 kills and 23 errors in 83 attempts. Daniel Wetter led the Matadors with nine kills and Ryan DeWeese had seven. Setter Kyle Merchen totaled 27 assists and seven digs.

SET 1
• UC San Diego started strong, hitting .381 (11-3-21) to CSUN's .103 (10-7-29).
• A CSUN attack error gave the Tritons a 4-3 lead and they stayed ahead the rest of the way.
• The Matadors closed within a point at 14-13 but UC San Diego scored the next five points.
• At 22-18, a pair of CSUN attack errors followed by a McCauley ace put the Tritons up 1-0 in the match.

SET 2
• The Tritons were even stronger on the attack, hitting .533 (10-2-15) in the frame.
• The Matadors had their worst offensive set of the match, hitting .050 (7-6-20)
• Down 2-1 early, a three-point run on kills by Ryan Ka, McCauley, and Shane Benetz put UC San Diego up for good. 

SET 3
• Trailing 5-4, four straight points gave CSUN an 8-5 lead.
• Down 14-9, UC San Diego reeled off four straight points to get within one. McCauley had two kills during the run.
• A Shannon kill put the Tritons up 17-16, their first advantage since leading 5-4.
• Down 21-18, UC San Diego captured five consecutive points to take a 23-21 advantage. All five points came on Matador errors.
• The teams traded points until a CSUN service error gave UC San Diego the sweep.

WHAT HEAD COACH KEVIN RING HAD TO SAY
• "We had a really strong offensive night. I thought we passed well. We were able to establish the middles and we were good on the pins."

• "Kyle McCauley had a great night, hitting over .400 from the front and the back rows. We also had really good setting that led to several guys hitting well, including Collin Shannon, who hit over .500."

• "Logan (Clark) had a tremendous match. Teams know who he is, they know that we're going to set him, and he's still productive for us. The connection between setter Blake Crisp and Logan has been really strong."

• "We wanted the distribution of our offense to be balanced, but we also wanted the production of our offense to be balanced as well. Credit the attackers, credit Blake for running the offense."

• "In the third set they (CSUN) elevated their game and put some really good service pressure on us. We had a few undisciplined plays. We didn't have a great game in set three, but we chipped away, chipped away and clawed our way back into it. You have to find ways to win those gritty games and we did that tonight."

• "We face them again tomorrow night at home. We saw what they did in the third set, picking up their game. We have to be prepared for their best."

• "It's pretty special to win in a sweep in the Big West and we did that tonight. We want to get a streak going. Can we run a couple here? So we're going to be ready to go tomorrow night at home."

TRITON TIDBITS
• It was the first time since 2019 that the two teams had met.
• The victory was UC San Diego's first on the road this season.
• The win snapped a five-match losing streak for the Tritons against the Matadors.
• The Tritons' last sweep was against Penn State on March 11, 2020, the final match before the remainder of the season was canceled.
• UC San Diego's last Big West sweep was against UC Irvine on Feb. 21, 2020. It was the team's first-ever straight-set win in a Big West contest.
• UC San Diego's best hitting percentage of the season was .326 in a five-set win against UC Irvine.
• For the first time in nine matches this season, Kyle McCauley finished with less than 10 kills.
• UC San Diego was without senior outside hitter Wyatt Harrison for the eighth consecutive match due to injury.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego and CSUN meet on Saturday, April 3, in La Jolla. First serve at RIMAC Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. Every point can be followed with a live broadcast on ESPN3 as well as live stats. Per current COVID-19 safety guidelines and protocols implemented by UC San Diego, spectators are not permitted to attend home matches at RIMAC Arena at this time.

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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.