SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC San Diego men's volleyball team opened its 2024 season Thursday on a high note, defeating George Mason, 3-1, on the opening day of UC Santa Barbara's annual Asics Invitational.
Scores from Robertson Gymnasium went 27-25, 23-25, 25-21, and 25-20.
George Mason, out of Fairfax, Va., is ranked 20th and UC San Diego is receiving votes in the first AVCA National Poll of the season.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego's
Josh Schellinger dropped a co-match-high 14 kills, one short of his career best. He also chipped in eight digs, four blocks, and two aces. He finished with 18 points, a new career best. Making his Triton debut,
Anthony Cherfan matched Schellinger, also flooring 14 kills.
Matthew Lim, playing for the first time since Jan. 7 of 2023, added 11 kills.
Peter Selcho added eight kills and hit .429 (8-2-14).
Jim Garrison finished with five kills and four blocks. Libero
Evan Boyle led all players defensively with a match-best 10 digs.
The Tritons held a substantial advantage in attack percentage (.252 to .179) and assists (50-35) and also came out on top in kills (52-39), aces (7-5), and digs (37-36).
For George Mason, Jack Bolz and Omar Hoyos each had 10 kills. Sam Peters had five blocks, while Troy McDonald and Paul Wyszynski each had seven digs.
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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"It was great to get the season underway! We know that will unfortunately come with some errors that we need to improve upon. The key early on is learning to compete together and finding ways to win as a new team and this group accomplished that tonight."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• Triton debuts: Junior transfer
Anthony Cherfan, junior transfer
Sebastian Lara, and sophomore
Cameron Wurl.
• Since 2018, UC San Diego is 5-2 in season openers.
• It was the first meeting between UC San Diego and George Mason since February of 2009 (Tritons 3, Patriots 0).
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Matthew Lim started the first three matches of 2023 and missed the next 22 due to injury.
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NEXT UP
The Asics Invitational continues Friday with UC San Diego up against No. 7 Grand Canyon at 2 p.m. Pacific. The match can be followed with
live stats.
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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 84 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
