LA JOLLA, Calif. –  It came down to five sets and the 13th-ranked UC San Diego men's volleyball team prevailed with a 3-2 victory Friday night at Vanguard.

Scores from Orange County were 25-19, 25-16, 20-25, 25-27, and 15-13 in favor of the Tritons.

UC San Diego upped its season record to 9-2 while the Lions fell to 2-3.

The teams played a home and home series that saw the Tritons win both. UC San Diego swept Vanguard on Jan. 24 in La Jolla.

HOW IT HAPPENED 
For the sixth time this season, UC San Diego hit north of .300, coming in at .345 with 55 kills and 16 errors in 113 attack attempts. It was the team's second-highest attack total of the year.

Michael Robertson was the lone Triton to reach a double-digit kill total as he had 11. Leo Pravednikov totaled nine while Sebastian Lara had eight. Robertson had a team-high 22 attack attempts.

On defense, Matthew Lim led all players with 10 digs.

For Vanguard, Grant Dvorak finished with a match-high 20 kills and Nick Dvorak had 10. Grant added four aces, three blocks, and five digs.

The Lions hit .254 with 49 kills, 20 errors, and 114 swings.

UC San Diego's top offensive output came in the second frame at .550 (13-2-20). The Tritons prefaced that with a .500 (12-1-22) attack in the opening set.

The match consisted of 25 tie scores but just seven lead changes. The third set had nine ties and four lead swaps, both match-highs.

WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER HAD TO SAY
"We played really well in the first two sets and then Vanguard really stepped up. As we were trying some new things, it led to them playing well and getting some momentum and it was tough to stop that. We needed to be a little quicker responding to that."

TRITON TIDBITS
• Landon Seymour made his Triton debut tonight. He put down a service ace in the fourth set.
• It was the second five-set match this season for UC San Diego.
• Three players with the last name Dvorak played in the game - Bryce for UC San Diego and Grant and Nick from Vanguard. Bryce and Grant are siblings while Nick is not related.
• UC San Diego head coach Brad Rostratter started the men's volleyball program at Vanguard in 2019.

UP NEXT 
The Tritons head to Phoenix Feb. 14-15 to play a pair of non-conference  at Grand Canyon.The 'Lopes are ranked 11th in the latest national poll.
 
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.