LA JOLLA, Calif. – In a strong effort, UC San Diego dropped a 3-1 decision to fifth-ranked Hawai'i in Big West men's volleyball action Friday night at Liontree Arena.
The set scores stood at 25-20, 25-16, 12-25, and 25-20 in favor of the Rainbow Warriors, who improved to 22-5 overall and 5-4 in conference play.
The Tritons are now 11-14 on the season and 3-6 in the Big West.
Anthony Cherfan led with 16 kills, with Sebastian Lara and Peter Selcho chipping in eight apiece. Cherfan finished with a .406 hitting percentage, Lara with .294, and Selcho with .429.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons and Rainbow Warriors put up similar numbers on multiple fronts. Hawai'i attacked at .286 while UC San Diego finished at .263. The Tritons held a 30-28 lead in digs and a 9-7 advantage in blocks. Hawai'i had 10 service aces to UC San Diego's five.
The two teams struggled in similar areas too, with the visitors recording 18 service errors to the host's 17.
The two sides were contentious from the first serve, going point-for-point throughout the early rounds. Three service errors gave the Rainbow Warriors their first points of the set. In spite of this, the set was not separated by more than a point — safe for a 5-3 score in favor of the Tritons — until Hawai'i took a 13-11 lead.
The Rainbow Warriors drove a wedge from here, going on an 8-3 run on three service errors and as many service aces. While the Tritons fought back to go on a 6-5 run driven by a trio of kills from Cherfan, two service errors continued to hurt the hosts as the opening set ended 25-20.
The second set saw the visitors take an early 5-1 lead via three kills, an attack error, and a service ace. While the deficit slowed following a Triton timeout, the Rainbow Warriors proved a difficult task for the Tritons who conceded another nine kills and committed six attack errors in the 25-16 set loss that gave Hawai'i a 2-0 set advantage.
Cherfan led the effort with four kills, with Selcho and Lara contributing two and one, respectively. UC San Diego also collected five of its points off service errors while giving up three points for the same error.
UC San Diego locked in for the do-or-die third set, flipping the script when they went up 5-1 punctuated by a block from Jim Garrison and Cherfan, as well as another kill from Cherfan. The Tritons extended the lead with a 7-5 run to go up 12-6 thanks to blocks from Garrison and Selcho.
A Hawai'i timeout could not halt the momentum as Lara and Garrison combined for a block. A trio of points that included a service ace from Lara extended the lead to 18-8, the largest margin of the game thus far. Kills from Cherfan and Lara set up the game point before a mistimed Hawai'i attack attempt completed the third set 25-12.
The Tritons chased a 3-1 deficit to begin the fourth set, coming within a point on four occasions. UC San Diego relied on kills during the first half of the set, scoring all but one of their first seven points off them.
The Rainbow Warriors also relied on kills, powering in six to go from 7-6 to 16-10. UC San Diego went 5-5 run from here off three kills and a service ace and error. A Triton timeout further shifted the momentum as they stiffened up their blocks. A 4-0 run resulted, with Lara dropping two kills to make it 21-19. However, four Hawai'i kills sealed the set and victory for the Rainbow Warriors.
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MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
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WHAT ANTHONY CHERFAN HAD TO SAY
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TRITON TIDBITS
•
Anthony Cherfan's 16 kills were one short of his career-high.
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Andrew Boyle played his first minutes since March 15 in a 3-2 victory over CSUN.
• The Rainbow Warriors are now 64-6 all-time against the Tritons, extending their series win streak to four matches.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego and Hawai'i go at it again Saturday at 7 p.m. in both squads' regular season finale. In addition, it will be Senior Night and setter
Andrew Boyle, setter
Gabriel Dyer, and libero
Paya Vatanshenas will be celebrated before the match.
The seeds and match-ups for the upcoming Big West Championship in Honolulu will be announced following the conclusion of Saturday's conference play.
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.
