Listen to head coach Brad Rostratter preview the season on the latest episode of Tritoncast!
LA JOLLA, Calif. - The UC San Diego men's volleyball team, led by first-year head coach Brad Rostratter, cracks open its 2023 campaign this week with three matches at UC Santa Barbara's Asics Invitational.
The Tritons, receiving votes in the first national poll of the season, take on Lincoln Memorial Thursday, second-ranked UCLA Friday, and 10th-ranked USC Saturday.
UC San Diego compiled a 13-11 record while going 5-5 in The Big West in 2022. The Tritons earned seven victories over nationally-ranked teams including No. 2 Long Beach State, No. 3 Hawaii, No. 11 BYU (twice), No. 12 Stanford, and No. 13 UC Irvine (twice). Outside hitter Kyle McCauley was honored as an NVA/AVCA All-American and joined middle blockers Shane Benetz and Logan Clark, outside Matthew Lim, and libero Matt Palma on All-Big West teams.
Lincoln Memorial, which plays at fifth-ranked Pepperdine Wednesday night, is an Independent men's volleyball program hailing from Harrogate, Tennessee. The Railsplitters are coming off a 2022 season in which they went 20-7, beat two ranked opponents (No. 11 Loyola-Chicago, No. 14 McKendree), and won the Independent Volleyball Association Tournament Championship.
Thursday's match will be the first-ever meeting between UC San Diego and Lincoln Memorial.
UCLA is the preseason favorite to win the seven-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). The Bruins went 22-5 overall and 11-1 in conference play in 2022. They defeated Pepperdine in the opening round of the NCAA National Collegiate Championship before being knocked out by eventual national runner-up Long Beach State in a semifinal.
USC went 22-7 and put together an 8-4 record in the MPSF in 2022. In the conference tournament, the Trojans opened with a win over Concordia before being dispatched by Pepperdine.
None of the matches in Santa Barbara will have a live video stream but will be covered with live stats (links below).
THE ESSENTIALS
--- Match 1: Non-Conference ---
• RV UC San Diego (0-0) vs. Lincoln Memorial (0-0)
• Thursday / January 5 / 8pm Pacific
• Robertson Gymnasium / Santa Barbara, Calif. (
map)
•
Tickets
•
Live Stats
•
Twitter /
Instagram
• Series: Have never met
--- Match 2: Non-Conference ---
• RV UC San Diego (0-0) vs. No. 2 UCLA (0-0)
• Friday / January 6 / 3pm Pacific
• Robertson Gymnasium / Santa Barbara, Calif. (
map)
•
Tickets
•
Live Stats
•
Twitter /
Instagram
• Series: UCLA leads 56-7
--- Match 3: Non-Conference ---
• RV UC San Diego (0-0) vs. No. 10 USC (0-0)
• Saturday / January 7 / 5:30pm Pacific
• Robertson Gymnasium / Santa Barbara, Calif. (
map)
•
Tickets
•
Live Stats
•
Twitter /
Instagram
• Series: USC leads 47-10
ABOUT THE UC SAN DIEGO TRITONS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 0-0
• Big West: 0-0
• Home: 0-0
• Away: 0-0
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: N/A
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 0-0
• AVCA national ranking: Receiving votes
• Big West Preseason Poll: 6th of 6
ABOUT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL RAILSPLITTERS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 0-0
• Home: 0-0
• Away: 0-0
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: N/A
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 0-0
• AVCA national ranking: Not ranked
ABOUT THE UCLA BRUINS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 0-0
• MPSF: 0-0
• Home: 0-0
• Away: 0-0
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: N/A
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 0-0
• AVCA national ranking: 2nd
• MPSF Preseason Poll: 1st of 7
ABOUT THE USC TROJANS
Roster |
Schedule & Results |
Statistics
• Overall: 0-0
• MPSF: 0-0
• Home: 0-0
• Away: 0-0
• Neutral: 0-0
• Streak: N/A
• Against nationally-ranked teams: 0-0
• AVCA national ranking: 10th
• MPSF Preseason Poll: Tied for 4th of 7 (Grand Canyon)
2023 BIG WEST STANDINGS (through 1/4)
| Team |
Big West |
Overall |
| CSUN (RV) |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Hawaii (#1) |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| Long Beach State (#3) |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| UC Irvine (#8) |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| UC San Diego (RV) |
0-0 |
0-0 |
| UC Santa Barbara (#7) |
0-0 |
0-0 |
UC SAN DIEGO ROSTER BREAKDOWN
Starters Returning (1)
•
Ryan Ka (Sr. OH)
Starters Lost (5)
•
Shane Benetz (MB)
•
Logan Clark (MB)
•
Blake Crisp (S)
•
Wyatt Harrison (OH)
•
Kyle McCauley (OH)
Primary Liberos Returning (0)
Primary Liberos Lost (1)
• Matt Palma
Others Returning (12)
• Ben Blakely (So. OPP/OH)
• Andrew Boyle (Jr. S)
• Gabriel Dyer (So. S/OPP)
• Jim Garrison (R-Fr. MB)
• Matthew Lim (So. OH)
• Berkeley Miesfeld (R-Sr. OPP)
• Brett Pursley (R-Fr. OH)
• Nick Rigo (Jr. MB)
• Josh Schellinger (R-Fr. OH)
• Peter Selcho (R-Fr. MB)
• Michael Urdahl (R-Sr. MB)
• Paya Vatanshenas (R-So. L)
Others Lost (2)
• Jason Lee (OH)
• Charlie Siragusa (OH/OPP)
Newcomers (8)
• Evan Boyle (Fr. L)
• Joshua Ewert (Fr. OH)
• Spiro Maranda (So. MB)
• Leo Pravednikov (Fr. OH)
• Michael Robertson (Fr. OPP)
• Sam Warren (So. OH)
• Zachary Weston (So. MB)
• Cameron Wurl (Fr. S)
GAME DAY HAS A NEW LOOK
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information as game programs have gone digital! Fans can access the programs from their smart phone at
this link or scan the QR code at the entrance to LionTree Arena for everything they need to know about each home match including updated rosters, schedules, and statistics for each team, as well as links to watch live on ESPN+.
OUR HOME HAS A NEW NAME
UC San Diego's volleyball home has been named
LionTree Arena in recognition of a $5 million gift for scholar-athletes from LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank with expertise in technology, media, and the digital economy. LionTree was founded by UC San Diego alumnus Aryeh B. Bourkoff, who also serves as the firm's CEO. LionTree's gift is the largest ever received by UC San Diego Athletics, establishing the LionTree Endowed Scholarship Fund to support scholar-athletes. The gift total contributed to the
Campaign for UC San Diego, which concluded on June 30, 2022. Bourkoff also served as co-chair of the Campaign for UC San Diego Cabinet.
AVCA NATIONAL POLL
(preseason, 1/3/22)
1. Hawai'i
2. UCLA
3. Long Beach State
4. Penn State
5. Pepperdine
6. Ball State
7. UC Santa Barbara
8. UC Irvine
9. Stanford
10. USC
11. Grand Canyon
12. Loyola-Chicago
13. Ohio State
14. Lewis
15. Princeton
Receiving votes: NJIT, BYU, CSUN,
UC San Diego, Purdue-Fort Wayne
ROCK THE VOTE
Here's a look at where UC San Diego has stood in this season's AVCA National Poll.
• Preseason: Receiving votes
BIG RANKINGS FOR THE BIG WEST
Four of the six Big West Conference teams can be found in this week's AVCA Top 15 National Poll.
1. Hawai'i
3. Long Beach State
7. UC Santa Barbara
8. UC Irvine
The remaining two teams (CSUN, UC San Diego) are receiving votes.
2023 BIG WEST PRESEASON POLL
1. Hawai'i
2. Long Beach State
3. UC Irvine
4. UC Santa Barbara
5. CSUN
6. UC San Diego
HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER
Brad Rostratter was named head coach of the UC San Diego men's volleyball program on October 7, 2022. A National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Coach of the Year and two-time Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Coach of the Year, Rostratter came to La Jolla from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif., where he served as the men's volleyball head coach since the program's inception in 2019. He led the Lions to a pair of GSAC regular season titles, a league tournament title, and two appearances at the NAIA National Tournament.
Complete Rostratter Bio
NCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL LANDSCAPE
The NCAA combines Division I and Division II teams into a single national championship (National Collegiate Championship), while Division III squads have a stand-alone championship (NCAA Division III National Championship). There are 58 Division I and Division II teams combined, with 44 of those making up six conferences. Another 14 institutions are independent.
In 2023, the Northeast Conference (NEC) will become the seventh conference to compete at the Division I/II level in men's volleyball. Of the six programs that will make up the NEC, two are current independents (Fairleigh Dickinson and LIU, both of which started competition in the 2022 season), one will start a new varsity program in 2023 (Merrimack), and three will move from the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis (PA)).
Big West Conference (6)
CSUN (DI)
Hawai'i (DI)
Long Beach State (DI)
UC Irvine (DI)
UC San Diego (DI)
UC Santa Barbara (DI)
Conference Carolinas (8)
Barton (DII)
Belmont Abbey (DII)
Emmanuel (GA) (DII)
Erskine (DII)
King (TN) (DII)
Lees-McRae (DII)
Mount Olive (DII)
North Greenville (DII)
Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (9)
Charleston (WV) (DII)
George Mason (DI)
Harvard (DI)
NJIT (DI)
Penn State (DI)
Princeton (DI)
Sacred Heart (DI)
Saint Francis (PA) (DI)
St. Francis Brooklyn (DI)
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (8)
Ball State (DI)
Lewis (DII)
Lindenwood (DII)
Loyola Chicago (DI)
McKendree (DII)
Ohio State (DI)
Purdue Fort Wayne (DI)
Quincy (DII)
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (7)
BYU (DI)
Concordia Irvine (DII)
Grand Canyon (DI)
Pepperdine (DI)
Stanford (DI)
UCLA (DI)
USC (DI)
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (6)
Benedict (DII)
Central State (DII)
Edward Waters (DII)
Fort Valley State (DII)
Kentucky State (DII)
Morehouse (DII)
Independent (14)
Alderson Broaddus (DII)
American International (DII)
Daemen (DII)
D'Youville (DII)
Fairleigh Dickinson (DII)
Limestone (DII)
Lincoln Memorial (DII)
Long Island University (DII)
Maryville (DII)
Puerto Rico at Bayamon (DII)
Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (DII)
Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras (DII)
Queens (NC) (DII)
Tusculum (DII)
BE SOCIAL!
UC San Diego Athletics on Facebook (UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on Instagram (UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Athletics on Twitter (@UCSDtritons)
UC San Diego Men's Volleyball on Instagram (UCSDmvb)
UC San Diego Men's Volleyball on Twitter (@UCSDmvb)
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR HERE
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, visit the official team store of the Tritons
here.
UP NEXT
The Tritons stay on the road to play a pair of matches in the Chicago area, taking on Loyola-Chicago on Jan. 13 and Lewis on Jan. 14. Following that trip, UC San Diego opens its home season on Jan. 17 by entertaining Emmanuel inside LionTree Arena.
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 in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America accolades, while 38 have received 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 90 percent, the highest rate among NCAA Division I and II institutions.
