HONOLULU — The Big West regular season came to an end Saturday as the UC San Diego men's volleyball team was defeated in straight sets by Hawai'i, the No. 1-ranked team in the country.
Scores from a sold out SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center were 25-19, 25-22, and 25-21.
With the loss, UC San Diego is now 8-16 overall and 2-8 in the Big West. Hawai'i moved to 26-2 on the season and 9-1 in conference play.
UC San Diego will serve as the fifth seed in next week's Big West Championships. The Tritons will take on UC Santa Barbara, the fourth seed, on Thursday, April 20, at 5 p.m. Pacific in a first round match at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center.
The other opening round contest will see third-seeded UC Irvine go up against sixth-seeded CSUN at 7:30 p.m. on April 20.
Hawai'i earned the top seed in the tourney and Long Beach State will be No. 2. The Rainbow Warriors and the Beach have a first round bye and advance directly to Friday's semifinals. Hawai'i will face the winner of the UC San Diego/UC Santa Barbara match (5 p.m.), while LBSU will take on the winner of the UC Irvine/CSUN contest (7:30 p.m.).
The title match is slated for Saturday at 7:30 p.m. with the winner getting an automatic berth in the NCAA National Collegiate Championships.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
Hawai'i hit .375 (37-70-80) and UC San Diego swung at .220 (35-17-82) for the match. The Warriors held a 12-2 advantage in blocks and a 7-2 edge in service aces.
Triton
Josh Schellinger led all players with 12 kills.
Ryan Ka was just behind him with 11 kills.
Dimitrio Mouchlias paced Hawai'i with 11 kills. He also added five blocks, four digs, and a pair of aces. Guilherme Voss had six blocks while Spyros Chakas and Cole Haglund each had four. Chakas added three aces to his totals.
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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"We battled and fought until the very end. It was a blessing to compete against a talented team in a great environment to close out the regular season. Tonight's and last night's matches will help us next week at the Big West tournament."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Hawai'i defeated UC San Diego in four sets on Friday.
• UC San Diego is 1-1 against UC Santra Barbara this season.
• 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 Big West Championships take place April 20-22 UC Irvine's Bren Events Center.
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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.
