LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men's volleyball was defeated 3-1 at home by 14th-ranked CSUN Friday in both squads' first Big West match of the season.
Scores from LionTree Arena were 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, and 25-21 in favor of CSUN.
With its first home loss, the Tritons fell to 6-8 overall.
The Matadors, who won their seventh-consecutive contest, improved to 11-5.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN used a .241 to .146 advantage in attack percentage as well as a 7-3 edge in service aces to grind out the victory in a tightly-contested match.
The Tritons led for a good portion of the fourth and deciding set. After CSUN scored the first three points of the frame, UC San Diego grabbed its first lead when a
Berkeley Miesfeld kill made it 5-4. The Matadors tied it at 7-7, but the Tritons won seven of the next 10 points to take a four-point lead at 14-10. At 18-15 UC San Diego, CSUN went on a six-point march that put the Matadors in front, 21-18, and they stayed ahead the rest of the way.
CSUN hit .174 while UC San Diego hit .000 in the fourth set.
UC San Diego got 15 kills from both
Ryan Ka and
Berkeley Miesfeld. Ka added four blocks and six digs while Miesfeld also had five digs, three blocks, and an ace.
Josh Schellinger, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Week, finished with 12 kills.
Nick Rigo had a team-best five blocks and setter
Gabriel Dyer totaled a match-high 10 digs while doling out 36 assists.
CSUN was paced by Kyle Hobus, who put down match-highs with 17 kills and eight blocks. Malcolm King was tough up front as well, finishing his night with six blocks. Griffin Walters floored three aces and Taylan Cook led the Matadors with nine digs.
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QUOTABLE FROM HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER
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TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego came into the match with a 4-0 record inside LionTree Arena.
• The Tritons totaled 10.5 blocks, their third-most of the season.
• UC San Diego's 39 digs were their second-most of the season.
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Berkeley Miesfeld matched his career-high with 15 kills.
• Nine Tritons have made their collegiate debuts so far this season:
Evan Boyle,
Joshua Ewert,
Jim Garrison,
Michael Robertson,
Brett Pursley,
Josh Schellinger,
Peter Selcho,
Sam Warren,
Zachary Weston.
•
Brad Rostratter, who was named UC San Diego's head coach on Oct. 7, 2022, earned his first win with the Tritons on Jan. 5 when they defeated Lincoln Memorial.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego travels to UC Santa Barbara on Friday, March 3, for a 7 p.m. Big West clash.
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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 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 83 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.
