IRVINE, Calif. — The 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team secured a regular season sweep of No. 13 UC Irvine Saturday night as the Tritons out-lasted the Anteaters for a 3-2 victory at the Bren Events Center in Orange County.

Scores of the Big West Conference match were 25-23, 25-27, 25-16, 20-25, and 15-8.

UC San Diego upped its season record to 11-7 and improved to 3-2 in the Big West. UC Irvine fell to 8-11 and 1-3.

The Tritons defeated the Anteaters, 3-1, on March 25, at RIMAC Arena .

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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego had another solid match offensively, finishing with a .336 hitting percentage after getting 63 kills and making only 22 errors in 122 attack attempts. The Tritons had advantages in kills (63-56), points (75.5-71.5), service aces (6-4), assists (57-54), and digs (33-29).

Outside hitter Kyle McCauley once again led UC San Diego offensively, putting down 21 kills along with four service aces, eight digs, and three blocks.

Opposite Wyatt Harrison finished with 14 kills and middle blocker Shane Benetz hit .647 with 11 kills and no errors in 17 attack attempts. He also had a team-high five blocks. Middle Logan Clark and outside Ryan Ka each contributed seven kills.

Setter Blake Crisp had 51assists for the Tritons.

The Anteaters were paced by Francesco Sani, who led all players with 28 kills. Cole Gillis had 13 kills and Akhil Tangutur had 10. Aiden Wolf-Nielson had a match-high with eight blocks (one solo) and Cole Power led all players with 14 digs.

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TRITON TIDBITS
• The last time the Tritons swept the regular season against the Anteaters was in 2020.
• In 2021, the two teams split the regular season series with each squad winning on its home court. Both matches went five sets.
• Kyle McCauley has finished with a double-figure kill total in all 16 matches played.
• It was the fifth time McCauley has finished with 20 or more kills this season.
• McCauley has finished with at least one service in all but one match and has had multiple aces 11 times.
• It was the fourth time this season that Blake Crisp has hit the 50 assists mark.

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UP NEXT
The Tritons continue Big West Conference play next week against CSUN. UC San Diego hosts the Matadors on Thursday, March 31, before traveling to the Premiere America Credit Union Arena on Saturday, April 2. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. starts.

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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.