PRINCETON, N.J. — A cross-country road trip can be tough. Airport delays. Car breakdowns. Bad weather. Going to five sets on back-to-back nights.
Playing in its second five-set match in as many days Saturday, the 12th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team went the distance to defeat Princeton at Dillon Gymnasium on the Ivy League campus. Scores of the non-conference tilt went 21-25, 25-14, 19-25, 25-19, and 15-12.
UC San Diego, which lost in five at NJIT Friday night, moved to 3-2 overall with today's victory. Princeton dropped to 1-5.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego had a potent offense, finishing with a .345 hitting percentage, its highest of the season. The Tritons totaled 54 kills and made only 14 errors in 116 attack attempts. They had nine service aces, also a season-best. The Triton offense was also efficient as 51 of their 55 kills came with an assist. Setter
Blake Crisp had 39 of those helpers.
The Tritons hit just .154 in the opening set but finished with a sparkling .632 in the fifth frame when they had 12 kills and no errors in 19 attacks.
On the other side of the net, Princeton hit .254 (55-22-130) overall. The Tigers did hold advantages in kills (55-54), points (73-71), aces (10-9), and digs (37-31).
The first set had six tie scores and one lead change. Set two had no ties and no lead changes. Set three had two tie scores and no lead changes. The fourth set had none in either category and the final set had two ties and one lead change. A kill from outside hitter
Wyatt Harrison, his first of three straight, put the Tritons up 3-2 and they held a lead the rest of the way.
Outside hitter
Kyle McCauley, who had a career-high 27 kills at NJIT, led the Tritons again with a match-high 18 kills. He hit a healthy .368 with just four errors in 38 attempts. McCauley also added three aces, eight digs, and two blocks (one solo) to his stat line. His 18th and final kill was the match winner.
Middle blocker
Logan Clark and Harrison contributed 12 kills apiece, with Clark hitting .750 with zero errors in 16 attack attempts. Also helping out the Tritons' hitting percentage was middle
Nick Rigo, who finished with four kills and no errors in seven swings, good for a .571 clip.
A trio of Tigers also reached a double-digit kill total including Ben Harrington (13), Nate Thompson (13), and Brady Wedbush (10).
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The last time UC San Diego played back-to-back five-set matches was last season. On March 11, the Tritons lost at UC Irvine but defeated the Anteaters the next night at home.
• McCauley has led the Tritons in kills in all five matches this season. He has posted at least 14 kills in all five outings.
• The team's previous season-high for hitting percentage was .300 (39-12-90) against Stanford on Jan. 15.
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UP NEXT
The Tritons wrap up their three-match road swing at USC on Wednesday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. They return home to host Concordia on Friday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m.
No spectators are allowed at UC San Diego home events through Feb. 6.
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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 84 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.
