LA JOLLA, Calif. — No. 9 UC San Diego men's volleyball evened the score with Vanguard on Friday night with a 3-1 home victory at LionTree Arena. Set scores were 28-26, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23 in favor of the Tritons (9-5).
 
Outside hitter Sebastiano Sani hit .351 en route to 19 kills while also landing three aces. Opposite hitter Luke Chandler had three aces too to go with 10 kills. Middle blockers Jim Garrison and Peter Selcho both had eight kills, with Selcho adding eight block assists as well. Setter John Luers powered the offense with 50 assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons led for most of the first set, going up six at the 13-7 mark and staying in front by that same margin at 21-15. But Vanguard fought down the stretch, coming all the way back to tie the set at 23. The Lions then took their first lead since it was 4-3, going up 24-23. That was the first of their two set points, with the Tritons surviving both thanks to kills from Chandler and Sani. A kill for Leo Pravednikov and a solo block from Garrison eventually gave the Tritons the set at 28-26.
 
Set two started tight, with Vanguard leading 16-15 until a 7-2 Triton run made it 22-18 for UC San Diego and forced a Vanguard timeout. The Tritons were able to keep that same margin after the stoppage as they went on to win the second 25-21. Their 7-2 run featured two kills and two aces by Chandler and end with two blocks, both of which featured Selcho.
 
The Tritons started set three with a 5-1 lead and kept that advantage for most of the set. But Vanguard was able to slowly chip away at the gap, with the visitors finally leading for the first time at 24-23. A UC San Diego timeout helped create a service error on the next point, but that is all the Tritons got in their favor as the Lions won the next two rallies to take the third set 26-24.
 
Set four featured a familiar script as the Tritons led most of the way until Vanguard went in front 19-18, marking the Lions' first lead since it was 4-3. The Tritons stayed in this set however, only letting the Lions hold the lead one other time at 20-19. The set was later tied at both 22 and 23 until Sani landed two-straight kills to deny the Vanguard comeback and give the Tritons a 25-23 set win and a 3-1 match win.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons had a season-high 59 kills.
• Sani's 19 kills are a career high.
• Luers' 50 assists tied a career-high, a feat he has now done three times.
• The Tritons are 3-3 this season in sets that go past 25. 

QUOTABLE
"Credit to Vanguard, they are a really good team," Sani said. "We learned that we have to be ready for anything moving forward into our first Big West game. We have to be even better than we were tonight, and I think we can be."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons start Big West play at home next Tuesday, Mar. 3, as they host CSUN. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m. at LionTree Arena, with the match also available on ESPN+.
 
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.