The UCSD men’s volleyball team, piloted by third-year coach Ron Larsen, beat Mercyhurst College in four games in nonconference play Saturday evening at RIMAC Arena.
Guardian
UCSD came out strong with a 30-15 win in the first game, denying Mercyhurst any openings on either side of the net.
The Tritons came into the night sporting a seven-match losing streak and a 1-12 record. Their last win was Jan. 30 against a squad from Princeton University.
It was not a tough night for the Tritons. Mercyhurst, a small Division II college from Erie, Pa., had a 2-7 record and was looking to make up for it with a win against the Tritons.
In the second game, UCSD was plagued by mistakes and lost 28-30. Mounting a late-game charge, the Tritons tried to come back and take game two from the Lakers, but failed.
Between games two and three, there was a serving competition. David Hornson won, getting a $25 gift certificate for his effort.
In the third game, the Tritons jumped out to an early lead. The Lakers had some early trouble, but soon began to gnaw at UCSD’s lead.
With UCSD leading 26-24, Mercyhurst had momentum and began closing in on UCSD. The Lakers were looking to eke out another win.
Then UCSD’s Jim Waller and Eric Perrine took the game over for the Tritons.
Perrine took the Tritons to 27-24 with one of his 15 kills that night. At 27-24, Waller served a twister to the Lakers and when they could not manage a side out, gave UCSD the point from the other side with a kill.
Perrine then had a stellar block for 29-24 and Waller finished off the game with a service ace that ricocheted into the backcourt.
Waller is ranked 17th in the nation in kill average at 4.03 per game. Against Mercyhurst, he had 23 kills at a .633 rate compared to his season rate of .246, which also leads the team.
The Tritons improved upon their previous outing against the University of Southern California. They hit .172 against the Trojans, while against the Erie team they collectively hit .460.
Perrine added 10 digs against the Lakers and leads the team for the season in service aces and total blocks. He averages .31 aces and .66 blocks per game.
UCSD overpowered Mercyhurst in the fourth game, winning 30-20.
For Mercyhurst, Dave Schmidl led his team with 13 kills. Schmidl also had 14 errors on the attack, giving him a hitting percentage of -.027.
Jordan Hove recorded 59 of the Tritons’ 63 assists.
This game was the first of eight consecutive home matches for UCSD. Its next match is Wednesday against Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent Long Beach State University at RIMAC Arena. The ’49ers are ranked 12th in the MPSF.
