LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego men's volleyball rode a .409 hitting percentage to a quick 25-20, 25-16, 25-23 sweep of Concordia University Irvine on Wednesday night at LionTree Arena.
 
The Tritons (5-4) had 49 kills on 46 assists, 42 of which came from setter John Luers. Concordia (3-6) managed to hit just .152.
 
Sebastiano Sani led the Tritons with 17 kills while hitting .364. Luke Chandler and Leo Pravednikov both added nine kills, with Pravednikov landing four aces. Jim Garrison had seven kills and hit .778 to go with four blocks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
An 8-1 run early in set one put the Tritons up 13-7, with the stretch capped by two of Pravednikov's aces. The Tritons were later up 24-17 let before Concordia got three-straight kills. The set finally ended at 25-20 after a Golden Eagle service error.
 
UC San Diego had a blistering second set, jumping out to a 10-2 lead and never looking back. The Tritons got 19 of their points from kills and hit .500 in the frame. They got another on an ace by Luers and two more on blocks by Leo Wiemelt. The hosts led by as much as 11 before going on to win by nine, 25-16. Eight of Sani's kills came in the second.
 
The third set was tied at eight before the Tritons stretched out a five-point lead at 15-10 after consecutive kills by Josh Ewert. UC San Diego still led by five up 24-19 before Concordia won four-straight rallies to cut the advantage to 24-23. Sani then landed his final kill of the night to end the set at 25-23 and secure the Triton sweep.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Pravednikov's four aces tied his career high. The redshirt junior has now hit that mark in three matches, two of which were three-set affairs.
• Sani's 17 kills are tied for a career high, and tonight was the first time he hit that mark in three sets. The junior has now had 17 kills in back-to-back matches.
• Luers' 42 assists also came without any setting errors.
• The Tritons are now 10-8 all time against Concordia, with five of those wins being sweeps.

UP NEXT
The Tritons and Golden Eagles will square off again tomorrow night. Concordia will host that match in Irvine, which begins at 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.
 
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 has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-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 39 have garnered 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.