LA JOLLA, Calif. — In a Big West men's volleyball match Friday night at LionTree Arena, UC San Diego men's volleyball was swept by fourth-ranked Long Beach State.
Scores were 25-22, 25-13 and 25-16.
The Tritons fell to 7-13 overall and 1-5 in the Big West. The Beach improved to 15-3 on the season and 4-1 in the conference.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego hit -.024 (24-26-85) as the team's offense was thwarted by a big block put up by Long Beach State. The Beach finished with 14 team blocks, led by six-foot-10 opposite Simon Torwie, who finished his night with 10 stuffs (one solo). Clarke Godbold added six (one solo) and Island Doty had four. Spencer Olivier and Sotiris Sipanis also had multiple blocks with two apiece.
LBSU hit .300 (32-11-70).
The Beach led 2-1 in the opening set and stayed ahead until the Tritons were able to use a 3-0 run to tie it 13-13.
Josh Schellinger had two kills and
Ryan Ka had one during the run. With Long Beach State ahead 15-14, UC San Diego took its first lead after a
Jim Garrison kill and a Beach hitting error made it 16-15. The teams traded points until, with the Tritons ahead 19-18, LBSU rallied for four-straight points to move ahead, 22-19. The Beach stayed in front from there to go up 1-0 in the match.
Long Beach State used several large runs in the second set to take the 2-0 advantage in the match. Tied at 3-3, the Beach won four-consecutive points and stayed in front from that point on. A later 10-1 run made it 18-6. The Tritons got back within nine points at 20-11, but that's as close as they would get.
The Beach never fell behind in the third set. Tied at 1-1, they ran off five-straight points to build a cushion. Later leading 11-6, they scored four in a row to go up 15-6 and basically seal the victory.
For the Tritons,
Ryan Ka had nine kills and seven digs, both match-highs.
Josh Schellinger and
Sam Warren each had four kills.
Jim Garrison had three kills and no errors in seven attack attempts, good for a .429 attack percentage.
Olivier led Long Beach State in kills with seven and digs with six.
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BRAD ROSTRATTER INTERVIEW
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TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons were coming off a 3-0 conference road sweep of 12th-ranked CSUN.
• Long Beach State is the reigning national runner-up.
• 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.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego and Long Beach State are right back at it on Saturday, April 1, at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach. The match is set for 7 p.m.
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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.
