Match Stats
- #13 UCSB def. UC San Diego 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-14)
- UCSB improves to 7-8
- UCSD falls to 5-10
Press Releases:
UCSB:
SAN DIEGO – No. 13 UC Santa Barbara ended a seven-match winning streak in emphatic fashion on Friday night at the RIMAC Arena, comfortably sweeping host UC San Diego 25-19, 25-20, 25-14.
Senior outside hitter Jacob Delson led the team in both kills (11) and digs (12), notching his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career. Freshman middle blocker Keenan Sanders was also a potent part of the attack, knocking down nine kills on just 13 swings for the Gauchos, who improved to 7-8 overall with a 4-8 mark in MPSF action.
The Tritons dropped to 5-10, 2-8 on the year. They were led outside Tanner Syftestad, who had a team-high 10 kills.
UCSB controlled all facets of the game on Friday, outblocking (11.0-6.5), outhitting (.276-.048) and outacing (5-3) the hosts. The Gauchos were able to keep the Tritons under .100 hitting in all three games, including a .030 mark in the last frame.
Sophomore middle Connor Drake was a key part of UCSB’s advantage at the net, tying a season-high and finishing one short of his career best with seven blocks, including two solo efforts. Four other Gauchos recorded multiple blocks, including Sanders and setter Casey McGarry who had four apiece.
Despite the final score, it was relatively close in the first set until the Gauchos were able to pull away with a 7-0 run behind strong serving from Corey Chavers, who notched two of his three aces during the run and forced UCSD to burn both its timeouts. Hayden Boehle also contributed two of his five kills during the spree.
The Gauchos actually trailed until late in the middle set, heading down the stretch with an 18-20 disadvantage. However, UCSB once again reeled off seven straight points to take it, starting with a Drake-Chavers double-block and ending with a Delson ace. Drake and Chavers chipped in two kills apiece during the run.
Things were more comfortable for the Gauchos in the third, as they hit a match-high .333 and jumped out to a big 8-2 lead early. From that point, UCSD trailed by at least seven and as much as 10. Sanders finished off the match with a quick hit from McGarry, who had 34 assists on the night.
UCSB will look to keep it rolling tomorrow night as it faces off against No. 7 UC Irvine at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Center.
UCSD:
LA JOLLA, Calif. – The University of California San Diego lost to No. 5 University of Hawai’i, 3-0, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) men’s volleyball match Friday night at RIMAC Arena. Set scores were 25-16, 25-15 and 25-23.
The teams began the day as the owners of the two longest current win streaks in the MPSF, both at five contests. With the result, UC San Diego falls to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in the MPSF. The Tritons had come out on top in their previous two conference tilts, including Wednesday’s home sweep over No. 13 CSUN. Hawai’i moved to 11-2 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Junior opposite Tanner Syftestad wound up with a team-high seven kills, coming off of six straight in which he had provided the match high with 14 or more. Even in defeat, UCSD had 9.0 total team blocks, to 7.0 by UH. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Drew Sloane started and had a match- and career-best eight total blocks, to go along with one kill and one ace. Freshman outside hitter Devin Pontigon (Oceanside/El Camino HS) collected five kills on seven swings off the bench.
Fourth-year senior middle blocker Shayne Beamer made his return to the court after missing the previous six matches, contributing a pair of kills.
A pair of 3-0 mini-runs had UCSD up 7-3 in the opening frame. UH countered with a 3-0 stretch of its own a bit later, however, to draw even at 11-11 and force the first timeout of the evening. An attack error gave the Tritons the next point, but the Rainbow Warriors tallied six of seven from there, and ultimately scored the last five.
Once again in the second, UCSD got off to a strong start, managing the first three points on three bad UH attacks, the last two through combination blocks by Sloane and Syftestad, and then Sloane and Xander Jimenez. Hawai’i notched the following four points to take its first lead of the stanza. A 3-0 sequence gave the visitors a commanding 19-12 advantage as Triton head coach Kevin Ring, celebrating his birthday Friday, used his second timeout.
Game three was the tightest, featuring nine tie scores and three lead changes. The Tritons used a 4-0 run to push ahead, 7-4, and cause a UH timeout. Beamer, Luke La Mont and junior setter Milosh Stojcic had kills around a solo denial by La Mont.
A Rainbow Warrior service error coming out of a UCSD timeout gave the home side a slight 17-15 edge, but UH answered by tallying the ensuing four points. The Tritons never regained the lead, but did level matters twice at 19-19 and finally at 23-23 on a stuff block by Sloane and Syftestad. Kills by Kupono Fey and Brett Rosenmeier ended the match. Rosenmeier thus led all players with nine kills.
UC San Diego concludes this busy week at home against second-ranked MPSF leader Long Beach State (10-2, 6-1 MPSF) on Saturday night, Feb. 11. First serve at RIMAC Arena is set for 7 p.m. The 49ers were 3-0 victors at No. 7 UC Irvine Friday.
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