LA JOLLA, Calif. –  No. 13 UC San Diego Men's Volleyball spoiled No. 19 Lincoln Memorial's perfect record Tuesday, sweeping the Railsplitters at LionTree Arena.

Set scores were 25-20, 25-21, and 26-24. The Tritons improved to 8-2 while the Railsplitters fell to 7-1. 

Anthony Cherfan notched his fifth double-digit kill total of the season with a match-leading 15. Josh Schellinger was right behind him with 12 kills. Leo Pravednikov was stalwart on all ends, contributing eight kills, three service aces, and a trio of block assists up front.  

HOW IT HAPPENED 
Pravednikov got it going in set one with consecutive service aces, quickly followed by a 4-0 run to prompt a Railsplitter timeout at 7-3. The Tritons kept and widened this four-point cushion throughout the rest of the set, thanks in large part to Cherfan's seven kills. Back-to-back slams from the senior opposite finished off the first set at 25-20. 

Jim Garrison came to the forefront in the second set, following up a Pravednikov-aided block with a solo block to go up 3-0. Garrison also found success on the offensive front, recording a service ace and kill to help the Tritons along to a 12-6 midpoint lead.

The Railsplitters caught up to the Tritons' kill efficiency after this point; Lincoln Memorial finished with 12 kills to the Tritons' 13. Both sides also collected an assortment of attack and service error points to close out a tight 25-21 second set in favor of the Tritons.

An opening kill from the Railsplitters gave them their first lead of the game, a telling sign of the contentious early goings; it took a 4-0 run for the hosts to find some breathing room at 8-5. A service ace from Bryce Dvorak wedged a five-point distance and forced a timeout from Lincoln Memorial. 

Kills filled the second half of the set, with six Tritons notching in the category. UC San Diego's seven service errors and three attack errors supplemented the Railsplitter's scoreline. It came down to kills, however, as Lincoln Memorial's Axel van Baars tied the score at 22 and 23. Kills from Schellinger and Pravednikov kept the hosts a point ahead, but it would be a Cherfan kill that punctuated the 26-24 final set.

THE HIGHLIGHTS


TRITON TIDBITS
• The match marked the seventh time this season that the Tritons have won in straight sets.
• It was the fifth ranked match-up for UC San Diego this season - the Tritons are  3-2 in those matches.
• UC San Diego started Bryce Dvorak, Leo Pravednikov, Josh Schellinger, Peter Selcho, Jim Garrison, and Anthony Cherfan.

UP NEXT 
UC San Diego travels to Costa Mesa for a rematch against Vanguard Friday night. On Jan. 24 in La Jolla, the Tritons won in straight sets over the Lions.
 
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.