LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego hit a blistering .451 in a straight-set victory against Ottawa Friday night in non-conference men's volleyball action at LionTree Arena.
Scores were 25-15, 25-16, and 25-20.
The Tritons improved to 5-6 on the season while the Spirit dropped to 3-1 with its first loss.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego earned its stellar attack percentage by putting down 40 kills with just eight errors in 71 attempts. It was the team's second-best attack of the season, just behind its .459 (43-9-74) against Erskine on Jan. 28.
The Tritons hit .450 in the opening set, .458 in the second, and .444 in the third.
UC San Diego also held advantages in service aces (7-0), blocks (6-3), and digs (24-17).
Individually, senior outside hitter
Ryan Ka led all players with 15 kills while compiling a .407 attack. He also contributed three digs, two blocks (one solo), and an ace.
Redshirt freshman outside
Josh Schellinger continued his impressive season, finishing with eight kills on a .538 attack. Schellinger also totaled four aces, five digs, two blocks, and four assists.
At the net, junior middle
Nick Rigo and sophomore setter
Gabriel Dyer had three blocks apiece. Dyer had 31 assists on the night.
Defensively, freshman libero
Evan Boyle had a match-best eight digs.
Ottawa, which hit .194 (28-14-72), got nine kills from both Quaid King and Emery Outin. Outin also had seven digs.
The Spirit scored the first point of the match, but the Tritons took the next two and they would not trail again in the set. Tied at 2-2, UC San Diego won the next four points courtesy of a Rigo kill, a block by Rigo and Dyer, and two Schellinger aces. At 8-5 Tritons, a 9-3 run put UC San Diego up by nine at 17-8 and a later four point spree had the home team up by 11 at 22-11.
In the second set, Ottawa earned its second lead of the night at 9-8 following a 3-0 run. However at 16-16, UC San Diego ran off nine straight points to go up 2-0 in the match. Ka had a pair of kills and a block while Schellinger racked up a kill, an ace, and an assist.
The third frame stayed tight up until 21-18 in favor of UC San Diego. The Tritons then used a 4-2 run to complete the sweep.
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WHAT OUTSIDE HITTER RYAN KA HAD TO SAY
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Ottawa, located in Surprise, Ariz., plays at the NAIA level and is a member of the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC).
• It was UC San Diego's fourth three-set victory of the season.
• The Tritons have hit over .300 five times and over .400 three times this season.
• It was just the second ever meeting between UC San Diego and Ottawa. In 2018, the Tritons beat the Spirit 3-1.
• 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 is off until Feb. 14 when the Tritons host Westcliff University at 5 p.m. inside LionTree Arena. Tickets for all home matches are available through the
Triton Box Office.Â
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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.
