HONOLULU — Ryan Ka pounded a match-high 20 kills but UC San Diego men's volleyball lost in four sets at No. 1 Hawai'i Friday night.
Scores of the Big West match at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center went 28-26, 25-17, 19-25, and 25-14.
The loss lowered UC San Diego's overall record to 8-15 and the Tritons are now 2-7 in conference action. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 25-2 and 8-1.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams finished with a similar attack percentage, UC San Diego at .256 (54-24-117) and Hawai'i at .275 (44-16-102). The Warriors finished with advantages in service aces (8-3) and blocks (14-10), while the Tritons led in kills (54-44), assists (50-42), and digs (34-28).
Both squads posted their best attack numbers in the opening set as UC San Diego hit a whopping .600 (22-4-30) and Hawai'i came in at .400 (15-3-30).
The Tritons had 19 service errors to the Warriors' nine.
Ka added six digs, three blocks, and three assists to his totals.
Jim Garrison, the reigning Big West Freshman of the Week, as well as
Josh Schellinger each had nine kills. Garrison had a night at the net, collecting seven blocks (one solo).
Nick Rigo had seven kills and hit .667 (7-1-9). Setter
Gabriel Dyer amassed 44 assists to go along with his match-high 11 digs.
For Hawai'i, Dimitrios Mouchlias had 13 kills and Chaz Galloway followed with 11. Jakub Thelle and Guilherme Voss both had six blocks. Galloway led the Warriors in digs with eight.
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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"I'm very proud of the caliber of volleyball we played tonight. We showed resilience and toughness with our defensive urgency. We weren't quite good enough from the end line consistently throughout the match and that was the difference. We're excited for another opportunity to compete at a high level tomorrow."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• It was the 16th time that
Ryan Ka finished with a double-digit kill total this season. He's had 20-plus kills in four contests.
•
Jim Garrison's six blocks were one short of his career-best of seven, which he established against UC Santa Barbara a week ago.
• UC San Diego and Hawai'i split their series in 2022 with each team winning once in La Jolla.
• Nine Tritons have made their collegiate debuts so far this season:
Evan Boyle,
Josh Ewert,
Jim Garrison,
Michael Robertson,
Brett Pursley,
Josh Schellinger,
Peter Selcho,
Sam Warren, and
Zachary Weston.
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UP NEXT
The regular season concludes Saturday as the Tritons and Warriors go at it again in Honolulu. First serve is set for 10 p.m. Pacific.
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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.
