UCSD men’s volleyball was thwarted last week in its search for an elusive first win in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. First, its opponents used an obvious height advantage to do in UCSD, and then a pair of foreign imports had the Tritons’ number. Both games ended in losses for the boys in blue and gold.
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Wednesday of last week, the Tritons held court at RIMAC Arena in a nonconference match with the Ramblers of Loyola University of Chicago. The Ramblers used their taller players — they suited up four athletes who were 6 feet, 8 inches or taller, compared to the Tritons’ tallest, at 6 feet, 6 inches — to shut down the Tritons’ attack and emerge with a game sweep by scores of 30-28, 30-24 and 31-29. Despite the obvious disadvantage, the Tritons overcame their shortcomings to keep each set close, even sending the final set into extra points before the Ramblers shut the door.
Loyola was led by the impressive tag team efforts of Brad Stoub and Rick Sullivan, who each had 11 kills on the night. Dan Hass, one of the team’s long drinks of water, at 6 feet, 8 inches, also was a main contributor for the Ramblers with 5 kills and a match-high 10 blocks. Setter Shane Davis was the chef behind the marvelous meal being served up by Loyola, dishing out 44 assists.
Senior Zach Hite was the man on the floor for UCSD, knocking down 13 kills and adding 7 digs. Fellow Triton Eric Perrine punched through 11 kills, while Eric Rowe did his thing, notching a match-high 10 digs. Jordan Hove recorded 37 assists in the effort.
Loyola improved its record to 11-3 with the victory.
The Tritons faced off against Cal State Northridge on Saturday in an attempt to break out of the goose egg that has dominated their win column all season long. They came pumped up and ready to play, which was a good thing, as the final point would not be scored until some two hours and 25 minutes later. A full five sets were played that night, with the lead going back and forth at the end of each.
The Matadors won the first set by a 30-27 score and the Tritons took the second, 35-30. The third set was an all-out battle royale, going all the way to extra points before the Tritons blinked and Northridge had its second victory, 33-31. The Tritons were not ready to roll over just yet, however, and rebounded for the fourth set win, 30-26, to send it to the fifth and deciding set. The final set was a heartbreaker for the Tritons, as they were barely topped by a 15-13 final score that gave the night’s MPSF victory to the Matadors.
The Matadors relied heavily on their duo of foreign ringers. Eckhard Walter, a 6-foot-10-inch behemoth from Germany, and Oz Ozkaya, a 6-foot-3-inch outside hitter from noted volleyball juggernaut nation Turkey, were impressive on the floor. Walter punished the Tritons with 24 kills and nine digs, while Ozkaya used his Turkish gold to deliver 17 kills and nine digs. Joe Nargi, who had 11 kills, and Raoul Williams, who had 10, were also factors for Northridge. John Baxter was there to lend a hand, or 57 of them, en route to recording 57 assists.
The Tritons also had some impressive individual efforts to go along with a solid team showing. Donald Chen was the man above the net, recording 20 kills. Griffin Cogorno also raised a few eyebrows with his 13 kills, while Eric Perrine had 12 kills and a match-high 11 blocks. Hove hooked up his teammates in a very Escobar-like fashion, passing out 59 assist while playing in all five games.
With the victory the 15th ranked Matadors up its record to 2-10 in the MPSF and 6-12 overall. UCSD falls to 2-16 overall and 0-12 in MPSF conference play.
The Tritons took on New York University in a match played last night and will next see action tonight, when they go head to head with Illinois’ Quincy University at 7 p.m. in the Macky Arena.
