LONG BEACH, Calif. – Anthony Cherfan had a match-best 11 kills but No. 17 UC San Diego men's volleyball was swept by top-ranked Long Beach State Friday at Walter Pyramid in Los Angeles County.
Scores of the Big West match went 25-17, 25-15, and 25-16.
UC San Diego, which had its four-match win streak halted, is now 11-11 overall and 3-3 in Big West matches. Long Beach State, which won its ninth-consecutive contest, improved to 19-1 on the season and stayed unbeaten in conference play at 5-0.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego was held to a .101 (29-21-79) attack percentage while Long Beach State swung at a .370 (37-10-73) clip. The Beach had 13 blocks to the Tritons' two.
The match had 13 tie scores, six of those coming in the opening set. There were just seven tie scores - two each in the first and second sets and three in the final frame.
Sebastian Lara had nine kills for UC San Diego, while
Peter Selcho had four kills and hit .571. Libero
Evan Boyle led all players with eight digs.
For Long Beach State, Skyler Varga put down 10 kills and Nathan Harlan had nine. Varga racked up eight blocks at the net, followed closely by DiAeris McRaven, who had seven. Seven different Beach players had at least one block.
The Tritons hit .182 (11-7-22) in the second set, their highest attack percentage of the night. The Beach also put together its top hitting effort of the match in the same set, finishing at .619 (15-2-21).
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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"Tonight was a tough one. Long Beach played really, really well, especially from the end line. They served strong and consistently and it created some pressure for us.That first contact is really important to us having success and winning some rallies. That's for sure an area we're looking to upgrade, being better passing the ball and managing some of their serves and some of the different looks they showed us.
I think another piece for us is to be more consisent offensively and keeping our rhythm a little more, whether we're in system or out of system. There are times when we're trying to do a little too much.
We're excited to come back home Saturday and have a chance to respond. We're also looking forward to having some alumni come out and support us as well!"
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TRITON TIDBITS
• It was
Anthony Cherfan's 13th double-digit kill total this season.
• Long Beach State has won the past three meetings between the two teams.
• The Tritons' last win against the Beach came in 2022.
• Long Beach State's lone loss of the season came against UCLA in four sets on Feb. 10 in Los Angeles.
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UP NEXT
The two Big West teams go at it again Saturday night in La Jolla. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. first serve inside LionTree Arena.
Tickets for all home matches are available from 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 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.
