IRVINE, Calif. – No. 18 UC San Diego men's volleyball fell to No. 5 UC Irvine in straight sets Sunday in Big West action at Crawford Hall in Orange County.
Scores were 25-20, 25-23, and 25-19.
The Tritons fell to 7-10 overall and 1-2 in the Big West, while the Anteaters improved to 12-4 on the season and 2-0 in conference action.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Irvine hit .345 on the night with 43 kills and 14 errors in 84 attack attempts. The Tritons finished at .253 with 32 kills and 12 errors in 79 swings.
The Anteaters held an 8-3 advantage in service aces.
Collectively, the match saw 15 tie scores and seven lead changes.
For the Tritons, Anthony Cherfan had a match co-high 13 kills while Sebastian Lara followed with eight. Setter Gabriel Dyer finished with 26 assists and a match-high nine digs.
UC Irvine got a match co-high 13 kills from Hilir Henno. William D'Arcy also hit double figures with 12 kills. Henno also put down three service aces.
In the first set, UC Irvine got out to a 4-0 lead. A later 3-0 run saw UCI ahead 8-2. At 24-18, UC San Diego was able to negate two set points but a Henno kill closed it out.
Trailing 21-19 in the second set, UC San Diego took the lead with a three-point run. It included a kill and an ace by Cherfan and a block from Dyer and Peter Selcho. A later Cherfan kill put the Tritons in front, 23-22. Unfortunately, two Triton errors - one on the serve, another on an attack - ensued and UC Irvine took a 2-0 lead.
UC Irvine jumped on it early in the third set and rolled out to a 6-1 lead. Henno had three kills and Brett Sheward floored two aces during that roll. Ahead 23-18, the Anteaters secured the win with back to back kills by D'Arcy.
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WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"We fought and battled the whole way through. We just couldn't quite execute in some specific situations. We did like some of the adjustments we made from night one to night two, especially with our blockers. We did a nice job slowing them down.
It's cool to see the team continue to improve against one of the best teams in the country. Even though we were swept twice, it was great to see our level of consistency, our level of volleyball.
We had some opportunities at the end we just couldn't quite convert on and execute. We've got to continue to improve. It's exciting for us to continue to build on this growth and strive for more. We need more out of everyone."
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TRITON TIDBITS
• It was the ninth time this season that
Anthony Cherfan had 10 or more kills.
• The Anteaters now hold a 55-15 all-time record against the Tritons.
• UC Irvine defeated UC San Diego Friday in La Jolla.
• The Tritons' last win against the Anteaters was on March 26, 2022 (3-2 in Irvine).
• The third set was 25-19, the same as all three set scores Friday in La Jolla.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego hosts cross-county opponent University of Saint Katherine Wednesday at 7 p.m. Tickets 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 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.
