The UCSD men’s volleyball team lost to California Baptist University on Feb. 11 on the road, one year after upsetting them.
Last season, after falling behind by two games to the Lancers, the Tritons managed to win three-straight games to pull off a shocking upset.
There would be no comeback this season.
Cal Baptist, the top-ranked school in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, avenged that loss to improve to 6-5 while UCSD dropped to 0-7 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and 1-10 overall.
In game one, both teams struggled to score points, and UCSD hit just .034 compared to Cal Baptist’s .231. Both teams also had seving woes, combining for 13 service errors, seven of which were the Tritons’. But consistent hitting by Cal Baptist’s junior opposite Shamsu Awudu and sophomore outside hitter Corey Spence was the difference for the Lancers in game one, as the Tritons lost 26-30.
Serving struggles continued in game two with UCSD’s seven service errors to Cal Baptist’s five. The Triton offense could not put any runs together, falling 20-30.
“We didn’t serve or pass at a high enough level to stay in the game,” head coach Kevin Ring said. “There were a lot of missed opportunities to score the ball. We need to get into a side-out rhythm.”
Game three was the Tritons’ best chance, with the teams remaining tied as late as 20 points apiece. But senior outside hitter Seidu Ajanako had two-straight kills to kick off an 8-2 run for the Lancers. Ajanako ended the match with a huge kill as the Lancers won gam e three 24-30, and the match 3-0.
“We’ve put in some pretty good spurts in each game, but there’s always a stretch where we make errors and give up runs,” Ring said. “We have to minimize that.”
Senior outside hitter Mike Reuter and sophomore outside hitter Russ Hardy led the Tritons with seven kills each and junior setter Brooks Dierdorff had 26 assists in the loss. The Tritons out-blocked the Lancers 11 to eight, but only hit .080 as a team.
“We’ve worked on blocking a lot in practice and I was glad to see it,” Ring said. “We’ve improved our defense, but we need to continue to score points.”
On Feb. 10, UCSD dropped a 25-30, 21-30, 27-30 match against No. 4 Cal State Long Beach. With the win, Long Beach improved to 11-2 overall and 6-1 in the MPSF.
Game one was close, as Cal State Long Beach held a slim lead of 23-26 before pulling away to record a 25-30 win.
Game two never seemed close, as UCSD struggled and made a few costly errors, losing by nine points, 21-30.
With both teams going back and forth, the third game was the most competitive of the night. The 49ers led most of the game, but the Tritons rallied back each time. With the score 11-15, UCSD tied the score at 19-19 with a small run. A service ace by sophomore middle blocker John Mark Wendler forced Cal State Long Beach into a time out. The teams would remain close and tied again for the last time at 27-27. The 49ers managed to score the last three points, including a kill by senior outside hitter Robert Tarr, to beat the Tritons 27-30.
“There were too many hitting errors against good teams,” Ring said. “When we’re out of our system, it puts more pressure on the outside hitters. We’re going to spend a lot of time in our side out game, hitting and passing this week.”
The Tritons were led by senior opposite Chris Sayers, who had 10 kills, and Reuter, who had nine on a .412 hitting clip. Tarr’s 12 kills led the 49ers.
UCSD has a lot to prepare for before Feb. 16, when it hosts No. 2 Brigham Young University.
