LA JOLLA, Calif. —Â
Kyle McCauley finished with a match-high 17 kills but the 10th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team was swept by No. 3 Hawaii Friday night at RIMAC Arena.
Scores of the Big West Conference match went 25-22, 25-20, and 25-19.
The Tritons, who defeated the Rainbow Warriors in five sets Wednesday, dropped to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in the Big West. Hawaii, the reigning national champion, improved to 14-3 and 1-1.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hawaii offense was much-improved as it posted a .429 hitting percentage with 43 kills and just 10 errors in 77 attack attempts. In Wednesday's match-up, the Rainbow Warriors hit just .192 (47-22-130).Â
On the other side of the net, UC San Diego hit .222 with 38 kills and 20 miscues in 81 swings.
Hawaii enjoyed advantages in kills (43-38), points (52-44), blocks (8-4), assists (40-32), and digs (21-18). UC San Diego had a 2-1 edge in service aces.
McCauley hit .345 (17-7-29) from the outside. Middle blocker
Logan Clark was efficient, putting down six kills with no errors in eight swings, good for a .750 attack. Fellow middle
Shane Benetz had three blocks (two solos). Defensively, libero
Matt Palma had six digs while setter
Blake Crisp and outside
Ryan Ka each had five.
Hawaii's offense was paced by Spyros Chakas, who collected 15 kills on a .700 (15-1-20) hitting percentage. Brett Sheward led all players with 10 digs.
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HIGHLIGHT REEL
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INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN RING
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The loss snapped UC San Diego's two-match win streak against Hawaii.
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Kyle McCauley has finished with a double-figure kill total in all 14 matches played.
• Sophomore setter
Andrew Boyle made his season debut tonight.
• The Tritons' 38 kills and 18 digs are season-lows.
• Hawaii's .429 hitting percentage is the highest by any Triton opponent this season.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays its final non-conference match of the regular season at Concordia on March 9 at 6 p.m. It will be third meeting between the two squads this season and will serve as the rubber match as the series is tied 1-1.
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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 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.
