PHOENIX, Ariz. –  In a second-straight competitive match between the two squads, the No. 12 UC San Diego men's volleyball team fell just short in five sets on the road at No. 10 Grand Canyon Saturday.

Set scores from Global Credit Union Arena were 20-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-18, and 19-17.

UC San Diego is now 9-4 overall while GCU is 9-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The fifth and deciding set saw the Tritons get out to a 2-0 lead on a Leo Pravednikov kill and a Bryce Dvorak service ace. However, GCU took the next four points to go up 4-2.  The Lopes stayed in front until back-to-back kills from Jim Garrison and Peter Selcho tied it at 5-5. Grand Canyon picked up the next two points with consecutive kills by Jarrett Anderson and Karter Rogers.

Later trailing 11-8, UC San Diego took three-straight points off of a Lopes' serve error, an ace by Dvorak, and a Josh Schellinger kill - that tied the score at 11-11. Following a GCU kill, the Tritons scored two straight times courtesy of kills from Garrison and Anthony Cherfan. That put the Tritons in front 13-12. The Lopes won the next two points and arrived at match point, 14-13. UC San Diego spoiled A Pravednikov kill gave UC San Diego its final lead at 17-16.

Grand Canyon closed it out with three-straight kills, two of those coming from Karter Rogers.

For the seventh time UC San Diego hit over .300, coming in at .326 with 66 kills and 21 errors in 138 attacks. 

Pravednikov established a new single match career-high with 21 kills. Cherfan had 19 kills to go along with a match-high 12 digs. Dvorak accumulated 54 assists.

For Grand Canyon, three players hit a double-digit kill total including Anderson (19), Cole Ottmar (12), and Rogers (14).

TRITON TIDBITS
• It was the third five-set match for the Tritons this season (1-2 record)
• The Lopes defeated the Tritons Friday by a score of 3-1

UP NEXT 
UC San Diego's next match is Feb. 22 at Concordia in Irvine. It's set for a 7 p.m. first serve inside CUI Arena.
 
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 Conference 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.