IRVINE, Calif. — No. 10 UC San Diego men's volleyball swept Concordia University Irvine for the second-straight night, this time on the road. Thursday's match was much tighter than Wednesday's contest in La Jolla as set scores were 27-25, 26-24, 25-23 in favor of the Tritons.
 
Sebastiano Sani led the Tritons with 14 kills, three aces and three blocks. Luke Chandler added 10 kills and four blocks while hitting .389, and Leo Pravednikov had nine kills and two aces. The Tritons had eight total blocks, led by five blocks assists from Peter Selcho.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
A back-and-forth opening set was tied at 14 before Concordia won four-straight rallies to go up 18-14. The Golden Eagles later led 21-17 before the Tritons fought back to tie the match at 23. UC San Diego then survived two set points before a Pravednikov ace and Golden Eagle attack error gave the Tritons the set, 27-25.
 
Concordia led for most of set two, leading by as much as six at the 16-10 mark. That prompted a Triton timeout, which spurred a 5-0 run by the visitors. The Golden Eagles called a timeout of their own after the third-straight Triton point, but that did not slow down Sani as he landed two-straight aces after the stoppage.
 
The Tritons would tie the second set at 17 but were unable to take the lead. Concordia responded with a 4-1 burst to lead 22-18, but UC San Diego was able to cut it down to a 23-22 advantage for the hosts. The Golden Eagles once again had two more set points, but they had two errors to keep the set alive. Sani and Chandler then had kills to give the Tritons the 26-24 set win.
 
Set three was as tight as the rest of the match, although the Tritons did not get their first lead until 15-14. The set featured eight ties, including at 23-all. Pravednikov and Sani then landed kills as the Tritons escaped for a third time to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-0. Two points was the Tritons' largest lead of the set.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons have now seen a set go past 25 points four times this season. Tonight was the first and second time they won one of those sets.
• Going past the minimum number of points needed to win a set twice in one match has now happened in seven matches in the last five seasons. This was the third time the Tritons have won both sets, and the first on the road since also playing at Concordia in 2022.
• The Tritons had seven service aces, their most in a three-set match this season.
• UC San Diego head coach Brad Rostratter is a Concordia alum. Concordia head coach Jon Girten was previously a Triton assistant for seven seasons. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons host UC Merced this Monday, Feb. 16, in a Presidents' Day matinee. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at LionTree Arena. The match will be Youth Day, with free t-shirts available for the first 150 kids age 12 and under.
 
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.