LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 12th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team makes its first of two out-of-state road trips during the regular season this week when it heads to the East Coast to face NJIT and Princeton. The non-conference matches will also be UC San Diego's first away from RIMAC Arena in 2022.
Both opponents are out of the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), which also houses Charleston (S.C.), George Mason, Harvard, Penn State, Sacred Heart, Saint Francis (Penn.), and St. Francis Brooklyn.
NJIT is currently 1-2 with a home win against Purdue Fort Wayne and road losses to Lewis and Loyola Chicago.
Princeton comes in at 1-4. The Tigers' lone victory thus far this season came in four sets at UC Santa Barbara. Princeton began its season with a four-match West Coast swing, losing at USC, UCLA, and Pepperdine in straight sets before downing the Gauchos. Most recently, the Tigers dropped a five-set home match to Daemen.
The Tritons' other out-of-state road trip during the regular season? That would be Provo, Utah, to take on BYU, currently ranked No. 8, on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12.
THE ESSENTIALS
--- Match 4: Non-Conference ---
• No. 12 UC San Diego (2-1) at
NJIT (1-2)
• Friday / January 28 / 3 p.m. PDT
•
NJIT Wellness and Events Center / Newark, N.J.
•
Watch
•
Live Stats
•
Twitter/
Instagram
--- Match 5: Non-Conference ---
• No. 12 UC San Diego (2-1) at
Princeton (1-4)
• Saturday / January 29 / 3 p.m. PDT
•
Dillon Gymnasium / Princeton, N.J.
•
ESPN+
•
Live Stats
•
Twitter/
Instagram
ABOUT THE UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 2-1
• Big West: 0-0
• Home: 2-1
• Away: 0-0
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: L1
• vs. Ranked Teams: 1-1
• AVCA national ranking: 12th
• Big West Preseason Poll: 3rd of 6
ABOUT THE NJIT HIGHLANDERS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 1-2
• EIVA: 0-0
• Home: 1-0
• Away: 0-2
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: W1
• AVCA national ranking: Not ranked
• EIVA Preseason Poll: 2nd of 9
ABOUT THE PRINCETON TIGERS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 1-4
• EIVA: 0-0
• Home: 0-1
• Away: 1-3
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: L1
• AVCA national ranking: Not ranked
• EIVA Preseason Poll: 4th of 9
2022 BIG WEST STANDINGS (through 1/27)
| Team |
Big West |
Overall |
| Hawaii |
0-0 |
4-0 |
| Long Beach State |
0-0 |
4-0 |
| UC San Diego |
0-0 |
2-1 |
| UC Irvine |
0-0 |
3-4 |
| UC Santa Barbara |
0-0 |
2-3 |
| CSUN |
0-0 |
0-0 |
UC SAN DIEGO ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Starters Returning (5)
•
Shane Benetz (Sr., MB)
•
Logan Clark (Jr., MB)
•
Blake Crisp (Sr., S)
•
Ryan Ka (Jr., OH)
•
Kyle McCauley (Sr., OH)
Starters Lost (1)
•
Collin Shannon (OPP)
Primary Liberos Returning (1)
• Matt Palma (Sr.)
Others Returning (7)
• Andrew Boyle (So., S)
• Wyatt Harrison (Sr., OH)
• Berkeley Miesfeld (Jr., OPP)
• Nick Rigo (So., MB)
• Charlie Siragusa (Sr., OH/OPP)
• Michael Urdahl (Jr., MB)
• Paya Vatanshenas (R-Fr., L)
Others Lost (6)
• Gabe Avillion (MB)
• Will Campbell (S)
• Bryce Curtis (OH)
• Macune Gilruth (OPP)
• Marco Posada (OH/OPP)
• Ryan Swartz (OH)
Newcomers (8)
• Ben Blakely (Fr., OPP/OH)
• Gabriel Dyer (Fr., S/OPP)
• Jim Garrison (Fr., MB)
• Jason Lee (Fr., OH)
• Matthew Lim (Fr., OH)
• Brett Pursley (Fr., OH)
• Josh Schellinger (Fr., OH)
• Peter Selcho (Fr., MB)
McCAULEY NAMED A PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN ... AGAIN
Senior outside hitter
Kyle McCauley was recently named to Off the Block's Preseason All-America Second Team. In 2021, he was selected to the organization's preseason first team. McCauley concluded his 2021 campaign with several major accolades including AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, All-Big West Conference First Team, and Big West All-Academic.
GAME DAY HAS A NEW LOOK
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can access the programs from their smart phone at
this link or scan the QR code at the entrance to RIMAC Arena for everything they need to know about each home match, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch on ESPN+.
UC SAN DIEGO'S RECORD ...
• Overall: 2-1
• In Big West matches: 0-0
• In non-conference matches: 2-1
• At home: 2-1
• On the road: 0-0
• In 3 set matches: 1-0
• In 4 set matches: 1-1
• In 5 set matches: 0-0
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 1-1
• Against non-ranked teams: 1-0
• On Wednesdays: 0-0
• On Thursdays: 0-0
• On Fridays: 1-1
• On Saturdays: 1-0
• When out-hitting opponent: 2-0
• When out-hit by opponent: 0-1
• When hitting percentage is equal: 0-0
• When out-acing opponent: 2-0
• When out-aced by opponent: 0-1
• When aces are equal: 0-0
• When out-digging opponent: 0-0
• When out-dug by opponent: 2-1
• When digs are equal: 0-0
• When out-blocking opponent: 2-0
• When out-blocked by opponent: 0-0
• When blocks are equal: 0-1
• When hitting .250 or better: 1-0
• When hitting under .250: 1-1
2022 UC SAN DIEGO INDIVIDUAL MATCH-HIGHS
2022 UC SAN DIEGO TEAM MATCH-HIGHS
| Kills |
49 |
vs. Grand Canyon |
1/21 |
|
|
vs. Harvard |
1/14 |
| Attack Attempts |
125 |
vs. Grand Canyon |
1/21 |
| Hitting Percentage |
.300 |
vs. Stanford |
1/15 |
| Assists |
48 |
vs. Harvard |
1/14 |
| Service Aces |
8 |
vs. Stanford |
1/15 |
| Digs |
40 |
vs. Harvard |
1/14 |
| Total Blocks |
12.0 |
vs. Harvard |
1/14 |
UC SAN DIEGO AMONG THE 2022 NATIONAL STAT LEADERS (top 10 only)
| Stat |
Value |
National Rank |
| Attacks/Set |
30.55 |
3 |
| Assists/Set |
11.91 |
4 |
| Kills/Set |
12.45 |
6 |
| Digs/Set |
9.73 |
7 |
| Blocks/Set |
2.36 |
10 |
TRITONS AMONG THE 2022 NATIONAL STAT LEADERS (top 20 only)
2022 BOX SCORES
• 1/21:
No. 6 Grand Canyon 3, No. 8 UC San Diego 1
• 1/15:
No. 10 UC San Diego 3, No. 12 Stanford 0
• 1/14:
No. 10 UC San Diego 3, Harvard 1
AVCA NATIONAL POLL
(1/24/22)
1. Hawaii
2. UCLA
3. Long Beach State
4. Penn State
5. Pepperdine
6. Grand Canyon
7. Lewis
8. BYU
9. Ohio State
10. USC
11. Loyola Chicago
12. UC San Diego
13. Stanford
14. UC Irvine
15. Ball State
Receiving Votes: UC Santa Barbara, McKendree
Dropped Out: McKendree (14)
ROCK THE VOTE
Here's a look at where UC San Diego has stood in this season's AVCA National Poll.
• 1/24: 12th
• 1/17: 8th
• 1/10: 10th
• Preseason: 10th
BIG RANKINGS FOR THE BIG WEST
Four of the six Big West Conference teams can be found in this week's AVCA Top 15 National Poll.
1. Hawai'i
3. Long Beach State
12. UC San Diego
14. UC Irvine
OFF THE BLOCK NATIONAL MEDIA POLL
(1/10/22)
1. Hawaii
2. UCLA
3. Pepperdine
4. Penn State
5. Long Beach State
6. Grand Canyon
7. Loyola Chicago
8. Lewis
9. BYU
10. Stanford
Receiving Votes: Ohio State,
UC San Diego, USC, Ball State, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara
ROCK THE VOTE II
Here's a look at where UC San Diego has stood in this season's Off the Block National Media Poll.
• Week 1: Receiving Votes
2022 BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL
T-1. Hawai'i (3 first place votes), 21 points
T-1. Long Beach State (3), 21
3. UC San Diego, 19
T-4. UC Irvine, 11
T-4. UC Santa Barbara, 11
6. CSUN, 7
2021 CAMPAIGN IN BULLET POINTS
• The Tritons opened the season on February 24. It was the team's first match since March 11 of 2020 (350 days) due to the pandemic.
• Outside hitter
Kyle McCauley named AVCA All-America Honorable Mention
• Outside hitter
Kyle McCauley named to All-Big West Conference First Team
• Outside hitter
Kyle McCauley named Big West Conference All-Academic
• Middle blocker
Shane Benetz named All-Big West Conference Honorable Mention
• The Tritons earned their first-ever postseason win when they defeated CSUN, 3-1, in the first round of the Big West Tournament
• UC San Diego took down No. 1-ranked, top-seeded, and undefeated Hawaii, 3-2, in a Big West Tournament semifinal
• The Tritons advanced to the championship match of the Big West Tournament for the first time ever
2021 HONOR ROLL
•
Kyle McCauley: AVCA All-America Honorable Mention, All-Big West Conference First Team, Off the Block Preseason All-America First Team, Big West All-Academic, UC San Diego All-Triton Scholar-Athlete Team, UCSDTritons.com Athlete of the Week (4/26)
•
Shane Benetz: All-Big West Conference Honorable Mention, Big West All-Academic
UC SAN DIEGO AND COVID-19
UC San Diego's nationally renowned Return to Learn program was created to return to in-person teaching, learning, conducting pioneering research, and serving our communities in the safest way possible. The program has three adaptive pillars that are central to our strategy to resume on-campus activity: risk mitigation, viral detection, and intervention. For the latest information on UC San Diego and COVID-19, please visit the University's
Return to Learn site.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
HEAD COACH KEVIN RING
Now in his 17th season heading up the UC San Diego men's volleyball program,
Kevin Ring currently owns a 121-314 (.278) overall record at the school. Ring got his start as the Tritons' team manager from 1989-91 before playing for the team for three seasons. He was an assistant coach for nine years and was named head coach in June of 2005. He has also been extensively involved with USA Volleyball. Ring earned two degrees from UC San Diego, graduating with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1996, followed by a master's in chemistry in 1998.
NCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL LANDSCAPE
The NCAA combines Division I and Division II teams into a single national championship (National Collegiate Championship), while Division III squads have a stand-alone championship (NCAA Division III National Championship). There are 58 Division I and Division II teams combined, with 44 of those making up six conferences. Another 14 institutions are independent.
In 2023, the Northeast Conference (NEC) will become the seventh conference to compete at the Division I/II level in men's volleyball. Of the six programs that will make up the NEC, two are current independents (Fairleigh Dickinson and LIU, both of which started competition in the 2022 season), one will start a new varsity program in 2023 (Merrimack), and three will move from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis (PA)).
Big West Conference (6)
CSUN (DI)
Hawai'i (DI)
Long Beach State (DI)
UC Irvine (DI)
UC San Diego (DI)
UC Santa Barbara (DI)
Conference Carolinas (8)
Barton (DII)
Belmont Abbey (DII)
Emmanuel (GA) (DII)
Erskine (DII)
King (TN) (DII)
Lees-McRae (DII)
Mount Olive (DII)
North Greenville (DII)
Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (9)
Charleston (WV) (DII)
George Mason (DI)
Harvard (DI)
NJIT (DI)
Penn State (DI)
Princeton (DI)
Sacred Heart (DI)
Saint Francis (PA) (DI)
St. Francis Brooklyn (DI)
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (8)
Ball State (DI)
Lewis (DII)
Lindenwood (DII)
Loyola Chicago (DI)
McKendree (DII)
Ohio State (DI)
Purdue Fort Wayne (DI)
Quincy (DII)
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (7)
BYU (DI)
Concordia Irvine (DII)
Grand Canyon (DI)
Pepperdine (DI)
Stanford (DI)
UCLA (DI)
USC (DI)
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (6)
Benedict (DII)
Central State (DII)
Edward Waters (DII)
Fort Valley State (DII)
Kentucky State (DII)
Morehouse (DII)
Independent (14)
Alderson Broaddus (DII)
American International (DII)
Daemen (DII)
D'Youville (DII)
Fairleigh Dickinson (DII)
Limestone (DII)
Lincoln Memorial (DII)
Long Island University (DII)
Maryville (DII)
Puerto Rico at Bayamon (DII)
Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (DII)
Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras (DII)
Queens (NC) (DII)
Tusculum (DII)
BE SOCIAL!
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UC San Diego Men's Volleyball on Instagram (ucsdmvb)
UC San Diego Men's Volleyball on Twitter (@ucsdmvb)
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR HERE
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons
here.
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.
