LA JOLLA, Calif. — Two massive Big West matches await No. 13 UC San Diego men's volleyball this weekend as the Tritons take on No. 5 UC Irvine.
 
The two teams will first battle in Irvine this Friday. They will then face off in La Jolla at LionTree Arena on Saturday. Free hats will be given out to the first 250 fans at Saturday's home match. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
MATCH DETAILS
Match 19
UC San Diego at UC Irvine
Friday, March 27 | 6:00 p.m.
Bren Events Center | Irvine, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats
 
Match 20
UC San Diego vs UC Irvine
Saturday, March 28 | 7:00 p.m.
LionTree Arena | La Jolla, Calif.
Watch | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics

• Location: La Jolla, Calif.
• Conference: Big West
• Overall: 11-7
• Big West: 2-1
• Home: 7-2
• Away: 4-5
• Neutral: 0-0
• vs Ranked: 3-5
• Streak: W1
• AVCA National Ranking: 13
• Big West Standings: 2nd

ABOUT THE ANTEATERS
Roster | Schedule & Results | Statistics

• Location: Irvine, Calif.
• Conference: Big West
• Overall: 13-3
• Big West: 1-1
• Home: 4-2
• Away: 6-1
• Neutral: 3-0
• vs Ranked: 8-3
• Streak: L1
• AVCA National Ranking: 5
• Big West Standings: 4th

SERIES HISTORY
UC Irvine is 31-7 against UC San Diego since 2009. The Anteaters have a 7-4 edge since the Tritons joined Division I ahead of the 2021 season. Both teams won at home last year, with the Tritons victorious 3-1 in La Jolla and the Anteaters victorious 3-0 in Irvine.
 
SHARING THE ROCK
The Tritons are 11th nationally in assists per set with 11.74. Primary setter and redshirt senior John Luers is 24th nationally in that category with 9.20.
 
SEBA SCORES
Junior outside hitter Sebastiano Sani is 22nd nationally in points per set (4.20), 28th in kills per set (3.48), 31st in aces per set (.39), 43rd in hitting percentage (.297) and 47th in attacks per set (7.30).
 
DANGEROUS BEHIND THE LINE
The Tritons are seventh nationally in aces per set with 1.72. Three players have at least 20 aces this season: Sani (26), Josh Ewert (23) and Leo Pravednikov (20).
 
AMONG THE RANKS
The March 23 AVCA National Collegiate Poll sees the Tritons at No. 13. 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 Hawai'i
• No. 3 Long Beach State
• No. 5 UC Irvine
• No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (L, 2-3)
• No. 9 BYU (L, 0-3; L, 1-3)
• No. 10 Loyola Chicago (L, 1-3)
• No. 16 Lewis (W, 3-2)
• No. 18 CSUN (W, 3-0; W, 3-2) 

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.
 
Long Beach State was picked to win The Big West after winning the national championship last season.

All six Big West teams are ranked nationally. Hawai'i has the best national ranking, checking in at No. 2.
 
Standings as of March 25
1. Hawai'i (2-0 Big West, 19-3 Overall)
2. UC San Diego (2-1, 11-7)
    UC Santa Barbara (2-1, 11-7)
4. UC Irvine (1-1, 13-3)
5. Long Beach State (0-2, 14-4)
6. CSUN (0-2, 12-6)
 
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 March 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	10	7	.588		2026	1	1	.500
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	48	51	.485		Totals	10	21	.323

 
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 have a pair of matches with No. 3 Long Beach State April 3-4. The two teams will meet in La Jolla that Friday before facing off in Long Beach on Saturday.
 
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.