LA JOLLA, Calif. — In its final regular season match of 2022 the ninth-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team was defeated, 3-1, by No. 6 UC Santa Barbara Saturday evening at RIMAC Arena.

Scores of the Big West Conference tilt were 25-22, 18-25, 25-22, and 25-14 in favor of the Gauchos, who improved to 18-8 overall and 6-4 in conference play. The Tritons fell to 13-10 on the season and finished Big West play at an even 5-5.

It was a battle for seeds at next week's Big West Championship. Both teams entered the match with identical 5-4 Big West records. The win secured the No. 3 seed for UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego will go in as the No. 4 seed.

The tournament is set for April 21-23 at SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii in Honolulu.

In the first round, the Tritons will face No. 5 UC Irvine on Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. Pacific.

First Round: Thursday, April 21
Match 1, 7:30 p.m. Pacific: No. 4 UC San Diego (5-5) vs. No. 5 UC Irvine (3-7)
Match 2, 10 p.m. Pacific: No. 3 UC Santa Barbara (6-4) vs. No. 6 CSUN (1-9)

Semifinals: Friday, April 22
Match 3, 7:30 p.m. Pacific: No. 1 Long Beach State (8-2) vs. winner of Match 1
Match 4, 10 p.m. Pacific: No. 2 Hawaii (7-3) vs. winner of Match 2

Final: Saturday, April 23
Match 5, 10:30 p.m. Pacific: Winner Match 3 vs. winner Match 4

The Big West Tournament champion earns the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA National Collegiate Championships, which take place May 5-7 at UCLA.

For complete info on the conference tournament, including links to live coverage, please visit Championship Central.

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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Santa Barbara out-hit UC San Diego .287 (47-14-115) to .213 (49-23-122) and held a 12-6 advantage in blocks. The Gauchos hit over .300 in sets three and four. The Tritons' best offensive output came in the second set when they hit .476.

The Tritons led in digs, 45-40.

Outside hitter Kyle McCauley put away a match-high 19 kills for UC San Diego. Outside Ryan Ka followed with 12 and opposite Wyatt Harrison had 10. Middle Shane Benetz finished with five blocks (one solo) and libero Matt Palma led all players with 14 digs.

For UCSB, Dayne Chalmers and Ryan Wilcox each had 13 kills. Donovan Todorov racked up eight blocks and Patrick Paragas had 11 digs.

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HIGHLIGHT REEL



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KEVIN RING INTERVIEW



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TRITON TIDBITS
• After the match, UC San Diego's eight seniors were celebrated - Shane Benetz, Logan Clark, Blake Crisp, Wyatt Harrison, Jason Lee, Kyle McCauley, Berkeley Miesfeld, and Matt Palma.
• Tonight's attendance of 1,069 was the second time this season that at least 1,000 fans were at RIMAC Arena to watch a men's volleyball match (1,505 vs. UCLA).
• UC San Diego's five conference victories are the team's most since the Big West began sponsoring the sport in 2018.
• The Gauchos swept the regular season series against the Tritons, also winning 3-1 on Feb. 24 in Santa Barbara.
• UC San Diego is 2-0 against UC Irvine, the Tritons' opponent in the first round of the conference tourney, this season so far. 
• At the 2021 conference tournament, UC San Diego defeated CSUN and Hawaii before losing, 3-1, against UCSB in the title match. 

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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.