LA JOLLA, Calif. - Throughout the summer, UC San Diego Athletics will be taking a look back at the greatest moments and accomplishments from the 2020-21 school year. Each week, a Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday segment will be featured on UC San Diego Athletics' Instagram and Twitter accounts.
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For this first Flashback Friday, we're highlighting the men's volleyball team's stunning upset of Hawaii.
The date, April 23. The setting, the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, home court of the Tritons' opponent that night. The match-up, a Big West Championship semifinal between 14th-ranked and fourth-seeded UC San Diego and No. 1-ranked, top-seeded, and undefeated Hawaii.Â
UC San Diego was coming in hot after a first round victory against CSUN the night prior. It was the Tritons' first-ever postseason win since they had moved up to NCAA Division I/II play in 2001. Hawaii, which was riding a 16-match win streak and enjoyed a first round bye, had already defeated UC San Diego four times in 2021. In fact, the Tritons hadn't won against the Rainbow Warriors since 2012.
With the odds stacked against them, the Tritons dug deep. When the digging was done, UC San Diego had come away with a gutsy, five-set upset of the clear favorite. Scores of the grueling marathon were 22-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-23, and 18-16.
UC San Diego was relentless at the net, amassing 13.5 blocks to Hawaii's 8.5.
Shane Benetz was in on no less than eight of those stuffs. Three Tritons put away a majority of the team's kills as
Kyle McCauley had a match-best 18,
Ryan Ka totaled 14, and
Collin Shannon finished with 12. McCauley added 10 digs, four service aces, and four blocks. Shannon hit .346 and tacked on four blocks and four digs. Ka had three aces, four blocks, and five digs. Â
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The next night, the Tritons fell to third-ranked and second-seeded UC Santa Barbara in the conference title match. Hawaii went on to win a national championship, finishing its season with a record of 17-1. UC San Diego will always be the 1.
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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 II and III 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.
