IRVINE, Calif. — No. 11 UC San Diego lost in the semifinal round of The Big West Championship on Friday 3-1 at the hands of No. 2 Hawai'i. Set scores were 25-19, 19-25, 25-20, 25-13 in favor of the Rainbow Warriors.
 
The fifth-seeded Tritons finish the year with a 13-14 record. Hawai'i is the top seed in the championship, which is being hosted by UC Irvine.
 
The Tritons tied their season high with 15 blocks but hit just .139. Middle blockers Jim Garrison and Leo Wiemelt both had seven blocks, while outside hitters Leo Pravednikov and Sebastiano Sani and setter Cameron Wurl each had five.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons had an early edge in set one, getting blocks on three of their first four points. They finished the set with 5.5 blocks, which were a key part of building a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. But Hawai'i took over after that stoppage, going on a 6-0 run to take a 19-16 lead. UC San Diego got the deficit back down to one at 20-19 before Hawai'i went on another run, winning the last five points to take the first 25-19.
 
Set two saw the Tritons again leading 15-12 at the media timeout, but this time they put the set away with a strong second half. A 4-1 UC San Diego run forced a Hawai'i timeout after Sani had three kills before teaming up with Wiemelt for a block. Those two combined again for another block after the timeout to see the Tritons lead 20-14. The advantage then grew to as much as seven later on after an ace by Ethan Hornyak. Set two would end on a Garrison kill as the Tritons were victorious 25-19.
 
The Tritons continued to block well to open the third set, recording three-straight stuffs to take an early 7-5 lead. But that advantage was short lived as a 6-1 Hawai'i run put the Rainbow Warriors up three, a lead they would later grow to seven at 20-13. UC San Diego came back to win the next three rallies thanks in part to two more blocks, but the Tritons got no closer as Hawai'i took set three 25-20.
 
Hawai'i ran away with set four, winning 11-straight points to turn a 6-all score into a 17-6 advantage. Louis Sakanoko was at the service line for the Rainbow Warriors during the serving run, which eventually ended with a kill from Luke Chandler. The margin between the two teams would stay mostly the same for the rest of the set as Hawai'i went on to win the fourth 25-13 to take the 3-1 match victory.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Hornyak's ace in the second set was his first of the season.
• The Tritons' other 15-block performance this year came in their regular season win over Hawai'i on April 11.
• Wiemelt (7), Sani (5) and Aidan Powell (1) all tied their career highs for blocks.

QUOTABLE
"I am proud of our guys for pushing each other, pushing our program and competing throughout the night tonight," head coach Brad Rostratter said. "We have a bad taste in our mouth after the finish in that fourth set. But I could not be more grateful for all 18 of my guys and all they have done for me and for this program. I love them so much and I wish we got to keep playing volleyball."
 
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.