LA JOLLA, Calif. — The ninth-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team ran into a hot CSUN squad and fell in straight sets Thursday evening at RIMAC Arena.
Scores of the Big West Conference match went 25-23, 25-21, and 25-19.
UC San Diego had its three-match win streak halted and the Tritons dropped to 11-8 overall and an even 3-3 in conference action. Winning its first Big West match of the season and snapping a seven-match losing slide, CSUN improved to 6-10 on the year and 1-4 in the league.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego struggled offensively, hitting just .141 with 29 kills and 17 errors in 85 attempts. It was the team's second-lowest hitting percentage of the season.
On the other side of the net, CSUN hit a solid .368 with 43 kills and 11 errors in 87 swings. The Matadors held advantages in kills (43-39), points (53.5-34), blocks (7.5-3), assists (38-28), digs (34-25), and service aces (3-2).
Outside hitter
Ryan Ka led the Tritons with eight kills. Opposite
Wyatt Harrison followed with seven and outside
Kyle McCauley had six. It was the first time in 18 matches this season that McCauley did not reach a double-digit kill total. Libero
Matt Palma, who ranks seventh nationally in digs per set, had a team-high seven tonight.
For the Matadors, Kyle Hobus had a match-best 12 kills and Daniel Wetter finished with 11. The pair hit .417 and .529, respectively. Hobus also logged five blocks (one solo). Olumide Allen hit .545 with six kills and no errors in 11 attack attempts while also adding four blocks. Joe Picone led all players with nine digs.
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HIGHLIGHT REEL
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INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN RING
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The loss snapped a three-match win streak for UC San Diego against CSUN.
• The last time the Matadors defeated the Tritons was on April 13, 2019 (3-1 in Northridge).
• It was the Tritons' lowest attack since hitting .128 at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 25.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego will look for redemption Saturday as it travels to CSUN for a re-match at the newly-named Premier American Credit Union Arena. The match in the San Fernando Valley is slated for a 7 p.m. start. Coverage will be provided by
ESPN+ as well as
live stats.
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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.
