SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — A Big West men's volleyball showdown between No. 11 UC San Diego and No. 12 UC Santa Barbara was as tight as the rankings between the two teams, with UC Santa Barbara victorious in five sets. The hosts won 25-22, 21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-11 on Friday night.
 
The Tritons (10-6, 1-1) did well offensively, hitting .364 and collecting 57 kills. The Gauchos (9-6, 1-0) hit .288 and had 54 kills, with their 15 aces a major part of their victory.
 
Sebastiano Sani led the Tritons with 16 kills, five aces and five blocks. Luke Chandler added 15 kills, followed by Leo Pravednikov with 10 and Jim Garrison with nine. Peter Selcho led the block with seven, while setter John Luers had 47 assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
A tight first set featured nine ties, with neither side getting a lead of more than three. The Tritons hit .360 while the Gauchos hit .273, but it was UCSB who would take the set after a late burst. A 20-20 tie was broken by three-straight points for the Gauchos. A UC San Diego timeout stopped the run, but the Tritons were unable to cut back into the lead as the Gauchos won the set 25-22.
 
Set two was just as close as the first as the two sides were tied 12 times, but the Tritons had a strong offensive showing to take the set. UC San Diego hit .407 with 16 kills while also registering two aces and two blocks. The Tritons had an early lead, going up 10-6 after an ace by Pravednikov and a kill for Sani. But UCSB chipped away at the gap, with the set later tied at 21. The Tritons then rode a Pravednikov kill and three Gaucho errors to four-straight points to end the second with a 25-21 victory.
 
The Gauchos raced out to an early 8-3 lead in set three, forcing an early Triton timeout. The hosts led by as much as seven and were up 16-10 until a 5-0 Triton run cut the lead to one. Sani had a kill and ace during that stretch, with Chandler adding two kills. UC San Diego finally tied the set at 18 but did not lead for the first time until it was 22-21. Set three ended the same way as the previous one as the Tritons went on a 5-0 run, anchored by a pair of blocks, to again win 25-21.
 
Set four also saw an early UCSB lead as the hosts went on a 7-0 run to lead 14-7. The Tritons rallied a few times but were never able to come all the way back, with the closest they got down two at 22-20. The Gauchos then won the final three points to win the set 25-20. UC San Diego hit a match-best .450 in the fourth but only had 11 kills. UCSB had six aces in the set.
 
Sani led the Tritons at the start of set five, going on a 4-0 run on his own with two kills and two aces to give UC San Diego a 4-1 lead. But from there it was all Gauchos as a 6-6 tie turned into a 5-1 run and 11-7 lead for the hosts. Three of those points were on aces. The Tritons continued to fight, cutting the lead to 12-10, but got no closer as UCSB took the fifth 15-11 to win the five-set battle.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Sani's five aces and five blocks are both career highs.
• Garrison's streak of seven-straight matches without an attack error ended with a lone error in the fourth set.
• Five of the last eight matches between UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara have gone to five sets. 

QUOTABLE
"It was a battle up in Santa Barbara as usual," head coach Brad Rostratter said. "That team plays really scrappy, they have good out-of-system setting and don't make a ton of errors from the serving or attacking perspectives. We had lots of ups and downs on our end. The highs were pretty high, but the lows were also pretty low. At the end of the day, we weren't quite consistent enough in the serve and pass phase of the game to be able to consistently run our offense and put pressure on the opponent. We have a lot to learn and a lot to grow from tonight, but I am proud of our fight, especially coming back in a couple of those sets where we started down. It is cool to see how resilient our group can be and continues to be through the ups and downs."
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will take a break from Big West play for one final nonconference match this Monday, Mar. 9. Princeton visits LionTree Arena in La Jolla for a match that begins at 7:00 p.m. and will also be broadcast 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.