Those Mormons sure can play them some volleyball, as the UCSD men’s volleyball team will attest. The BYU squad went missionary on that ass this weekend, sweeping the Tritons 3-0 on back-to-back nights to hand the secular sportsmen in blue and gold a pair of losses.
Friday night’s match was a sordid soiree for UCSD, as they compiled a whopping 11 errors and a pithy .140 hitting average on the night. These unremarkable stats can be greatly attributed to a strong Cougar team. They hit .400 in the match, knocking down an impressive 48 kills on 85 swings as a team. The opening round set the tone for the match, as Cougar freshman Jonathan Alleman had a BYU-record 5 aces and the Tritons hit for a paltry -.069 average to lose the set 30-16.
It got better from there, though, as the Tritons battled hard in the following two sets, staying within striking range until the final points. But those final points always seemed to fall the Cougars’ way and the Tritons ended up losing both sets, by scores of 30-25 and 30-27, respectively.
Alleman was the standout in the night’s match, as in addition to his acing spree, he also had a match-high 14 kills and four blocks. Junior Matt Olsen also came through for BYU with seven kills on the night.
UCSD saw impressive performances from their two senior standouts. Donald Chen, last season’s team MVP, was once again a force on the floor, pounding out 12 kills in the effort. Zach Hite, the other key senior performer, chipped in with 10 blue and gold kills.
The Tritons returned to the dark, dank Smith Fieldhouse Saturday, hoping to gain vengeance for the prior evening’s malfeasance. Once again, their hopes were dashed by BYU’s potent attack and seemingly impenetrable defensive front.
This match was more like a BYU house party than an actual volleyball game, as 10 of the 12 players on the Cougar roster recorded at least one kill. They put up a .337 average while holding UCSD to .109, with only 37 kills on 101 swings. The Tritons also committed 26 errors, as they just could not get their game on track and lost the match by set scores of 30-25, 30-15 and 30-25.
The third set was the brightest moment on this dismal evening, as UCSD forced seven BYU attack errors and climbed back into the game, trailing only 27-25. They failed to take home the set though as the Cougars knocked down back-to-back kills and took home the set and the victory.
Alleman was once again a main component of the Cougar’s attack, notching 11 kills, five digs and four blocks.
Chen was the man for UCSD for the second consecutive night, with a team high of 10 kills. Griffin Cogorno stepped up his game Saturday night for the Tritons, turning in an effort worth nine kills, four blocks and eight digs.
While the weekend was a rough one indeed for the Triton faithful, they can take solace in the fact that these losses came courtesy of the only unbeaten team in the nation. BYU’s record now stands at a sterling 4-0 in league and 7-0 overall. The Tritons record dropped to 0-4 and 1-7 for the season.
UCSD will look to improve their record starting tomorrow, when they face off at home against the University of Hawaii at 6 p.m.
