LA JOLLA, Calif. — The ever-challenging Big West men's volleyball slate opens for UC San Diego on Tuesday as the Tritons welcome CSUN to LionTree Arena. They will then travel to UC Santa Barbara for a match on Friday.
 
All six Big West teams are nationally ranked. UC San Diego is No. 11, one spot ahead of UC Santa Barbara's No. 12 ranking. CSUN checks in at No. 17.
 
Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+. David Gentile will have the call for Tuesday's home match. That match will also be Team Impact Night, celebrating UC San Diego's ongoing partnership with the Team Impact organization.
 
MATCH DETAILS
Match 15
No. 11 UC San Diego vs No. 17 CSUN
Tuesday, Mar. 3 | 7:00 p.m.
LionTree Arena | La Jolla, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats
 
Match 16
No. 11 UC San Diego at No. 12 UC Santa Barbara
Friday, Mar. 6 | 7:00 p.m.
The Thunderdome | Santa Barbara, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics

• Location: La Jolla, Calif.
• Conference: Big West
• Overall: 9-5
• Big West: 0-0
• Home: 6-1
• Away: 3-4
• Neutral: 0-0
• vs Ranked: 1-4
• Streak: W1
• AVCA National Ranking: 11
• Big West Preseason Poll: Tied 4th out of 6

ABOUT THE CSUN MATADORS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics

• Location: Northridge, Calif.
• Conference: Big West
• Overall: 10-4
• Big West: 0-0
• Home: 6-1
• Away: 0-3
• Neutral: 4-0
• vs Ranked: 1-3
• Streak: W3
• AVCA National Ranking: 17
• Big West Preseason Poll: Tied 4th out of 6

ABOUT THE UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics

• Location: Santa Barbara, Calif.
• Conference: Big West
• Overall: 8-6
• Big West: 0-0
• Home: 6-3
• Away: 2-3
• Neutral: 0-0
• vs Ranked: 3-6
• Streak: L1
• Big West Preseason Poll: Tied 4th out of 6 

SERIES HISTORY – CSUN
CSUN leads the all-time series 83-15, although the Tritons lead 7-5 since UC San Diego Athletics joined Division I in 2020. CSUN won both matches last season in five sets.
 
SERIES HISTORY – UC SANTA BARBARA
UC Santa Barbara leads the all-time series 54-13. The Tritons won all three of the teams' matchups last season, defeating the Gauchos in four sets twice during the regular season before adding a five-set victory during the quarterfinal round of The Big West Championship.
 
FUTURE SCHEDULE CHANGE
UC San Diego's road Big West match at UC Irvine will now be on Friday, Mar. 27. The Tritons will still host the Anteaters on Saturday, Mar. 28.
 
RUN IT BACK
UC San Diego, CSUN and UC Santa Barbara all finished tied for fourth in The Big West at the end of the 2025 regular season. Tiebreakers gave the Tritons the four seed in The Big West Championship, with UC Santa Barbara the five seed and CSUN the sixth seed.
 
This year's preseason coaches' poll saw all three teams once again picked to finish in a three-way tie for fourth. The Tritons will play both teams again later this year as they visit CSUN on Mar. 13 and host UC Santa Barbara in the regular season finale on Apr. 18.
 
SHARING THE ROCK
The Tritons are 10th nationally in assists per set with 11.84. Primary setter and redshirt senior John Luers is 30th nationally in that category with 8.86.
 
SEBA SCORES
Junior outside hitter Sebastiano Sani is 22nd nationally in points per set (4.27) and kills per set (3.60). He is also 44th in hitting percentage (.297) and 45th in attacks per set (7.50).
 
BOTH SIDES OF THE NET
The Tritons are 12th nationally in hitting percentage with a rate of .312. They are holding opponents to a .221 clip, the 19th-best mark in the country.
 
DANGEROUS BEHIND THE LINE
The Tritons are also 12th nationally in aces per set with 1.61. If they keep that rate up all season, it will be their best aces per set rate since at least 2000.
 
Redshirt junior outside hitter Josh Ewert leads the team with 18 aces. His rate of .38 aces per set is good for 41st nationally.
 
BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Redshirt senior Peter Selcho was named one of The Big West's Players of the Week on Monday, with the middle blocker taking home Defensive Player of the Week honors. He had a pair of season-best performances against Vanguard, totaling 17 blocks across the two matches.
 
Selcho is the first Triton to win a Big West Player of the Week award this season. He is now 21st in the country in blocks per set, averaging exactly 1.00.
 
AMONG THE RANKS
The Mar. 2 AVCA National Collegiate Poll sees the Tritons move down to No. 11 after a 1-1 record last week. UC San Diego will face fellow ranked opponents in 15 of their 25 matches this season. Seven of those contests will be at home, with eight coming on the road.

• No. 1 UCLA (L, 0-3)
• No. 2 Long Beach State
• No. 3 Hawai'i
• No. 4 UC Irvine
• No. 6 BYU (L, 0-3; L, 1-3)
• No. 8 Loyola Chicago (L, 1-3)
• No. 12 UC Santa Barbara
• No. 14 Lewis (W, 3-2)
• No. 17 CSUN

BIG WEST OUTLOOK
The Tritons were picked to finish in a tie for fourth in the 2026 Big West Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. That mirrors UC San Diego's finish at the end of the 2025 season.
 
All six Big West teams are ranked nationally. Long Beach State has the best national ranking, checking in at No. 2.
 
Long Beach State was also picked to win The Big West after winning the national championship last season.
 
2026 WEEKLY HONORS
OH Josh Ewert, UCU Athlete of the Week (Jan. 12)
MB Peter Selcho, Big West Defensive Player of the Week (Mar. 2)
 
BIG SHOES TO FILL
In 2025, UC San Diego saw opposite hitter Anthony Cherfan, setter Bryce Dvorak and outside hitter Josh Schellinger earn both All-Big West and All-American honors in their final season with the Tritons.
 
HEAD COACH BRAD ROSTRATTER
Brad Rostratter enters his fourth season leading UC San Diego in 2026. He was named head coach of the men's volleyball program on Oct. 7, 2022. Rostratter earned his first career win with the Tritons on Jan. 5, 2023, when the team defeated Lincoln Memorial in five sets at UC Santa Barbara's Asics Invitational. It was the team's season opener. Rostratter collected his first Big West victory on the road at CSUN when the Tritons swept the Matadors on Mar. 16, 2023. A National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Coach of the Year and two-time Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Coach of the Year, Rostratter came to La Jolla from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, California, where he served as the men's volleyball head coach since the program's inception in 2019. He led the Lions to a pair of GSAC regular season titles, a league tournament title and two appearances at the NAIA National Championship.
 

Overall	Wins	Losses	Pct.		Big West	Wins	Losses	Pct.
2026	9	5	.643		2026	0	0	N/A
2025	18	12	.600		2025	3	7	.300
2024	12	15	.444		2024	4	6	.400
2023	8	17	.320		2023	2	8	.200
Totals	46	48	.489		Totals	9	20	.310

 
2026 BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP
The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship will be April 23-25 at the Bren Events Center on the campus of UC Irvine. All six Big West squads will participate.
 
The top two seeds after the regular season will earn a bye to the semifinal round of the single-elimination championship. All-session tickets are on sale now. Single-session tickets will go on sale on March 31.
 
UC San Diego Athletics completed a department-wide transition to NCAA Division I in 2024. All Tritons sports are eligible for conference and national postseason play.
 
At the 2025 edition, the fourth-seeded Tritons defeated five seed UC Santa Barbara in five sets in the quarterfinal round. The Tritons then faced top-seeded Long Beach State in the semifinals, falling in three sets.
 
AN EXPANDED NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The 2026 season will see the bracket for the NCAA Championship expand from nine teams to 12. Seven automatic qualification spots remain, including one for The Big West. Five at-large bids will now make up the rest of the field, an increase from two in previous seasons.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, men's and women's volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego volleyball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.

WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.

TRITON VOLLEYBALL TALK
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast, Tritoncast. New episodes of Tritoncast are available on the most popular podcasting apps and on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on X @Tritoncast.

GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO VOLLEYBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdmvb.

FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!

GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will have one final nonconference match next Monday, Mar. 9, when they welcome Princeton to LionTree Arena. First serve is set for 7:00 p.m., 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.