LONG BEACH, Calif. — For the second-straight night, the UC San Diego men's volleyball team was swept by fourth-ranked and reigning national runner-up Long Beach State Saturday in Los Angeles County.
Scores of the Big West match at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach went 25-15, 25-17, and 25-13 in favor of the Beach, which improved to 16-3 overall and 5-1 in conference action. The Tritons dropped to 7-14 and 1-6.
The Beach also swept the Tritons Friday at LionTree Arena in La Jolla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
As was the case Friday in La Jolla, Long Beach State stifled the UC San Diego offense at the net with a strong block, this time with 15. As a result, the Tritons were left fielding a negative attack percentage as they came in at -.038 with 25 kills and 28 errors in 79 swings.
The Beach led wire-to-wire in the opening set.
The Tritons led, 2-1, early in the second set after back-to-back kills by
Josh Ewert, but an ensuing four-point run by LBSU put the home team ahead for good.
In the third frame, Long Beach State got out to a 4-0 lead. A later 5-0 run put the Beach up 13-4 and they were able to take the set and the sweep.
Josh Schellinger had a match-high 10 kills for UC San Diego. Ewert followed with seven and
Ryan Ka, who had a match-high nine kills Friday in La Jolla, finished with five tonight. Setter
Gabriel Dyer totaled a team-best six digs to go along with 24 assists.
For Long Beach, Sotiris Siapanis had eight kills on a .667 attack percentage. Clarke Gobold and Simon Torwie each had seven kills while Shane Holdaway had seven with a .750 hitting percentage. Spencer Olivier had eight blocks while Holdaway had seven and Torwie finished with six.
Overall, Long Beach State hit a healthy .554 with 33 kills and only two errors in 56 attack attempts.
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TRITON TIDBITS
• 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 hosts its final home match of the season on Friday, April 7, when UC Santa Barbara visits LionTree Arena on Senior Night. The contest is set for 7 p.m. Tickets for all home matches are available through the
Triton Box Office.
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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.
