MEN’S VOLLEYBALL — Both Pepperdine and USC brought their
brooms to San Diego over the
weekend, as both powerhouse teams came away with sweeps over the No. 15
Tritons.As harsh as it sounds, the Tritons were a shadow of their early-season
selves both nights.

Despite playing well in two games against the Waves, UCSD
never found a rhythm and lacked that spark.

After beating Princeton on Jan. 30,
head coach Kevin Ring admitted that the team hadn’t played to its peak and had
some work to do before the next games. Even after a lackluster performance this
weekend, Ring and the team are focusing on the positives.

“We certainly didn’t play our best volleyball this weekend,”
Ring said. “Heading into the weekend, we hadn’t played up to the same level
that we had in the earlier season. But our defense has continued to improve and
we are reading opposing hitters better. Our side out game has been better and
now it’s just a matter of playing with a lead.”

While the Tritons managed to play well at times, they were never consistent and it led to two losses. (Sanh Luong/Guardian)

Now standing at 3-7 overall, and 1-7 in the Mountain Pacific
Sports Federation, UCSD is looking to reignite its once promising season.

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” sophomore outside hitter Jason
Spangler said. “The fire is just not out on the court. We got together right after
the [USC match] and said that on Monday we all need to state our motivations
and find a way to achieve a victory. We’re trying to find who really wants to
win.”

Pepperdine began the disastrous weekend Feb. 1 with a 30-28,
30-26, 30-23 victory over UCSD. Ring knew Pepperdine’s talent before the game
but was pleased with his team’s performance during the first two games.

“I thought we played really well [during] the first two
games,” Ring said. “We sided out really well but we just don’t have the same heat
at the service line and blocking is definitely a negative factor for us. We
knew it was going to be a challenge, but it was our youth and inexperience that
really showed.”

In game one, UCSD held a two-point lead before watching it
evaporate. Pepperdine scored eight of the next 10 to take a 20-16 advantage.
The Tritons closed the gap to one at 29-28 but were unable to complete the
comeback. The Tritons held a 21-18 lead in game two but were stymied after the
Waves took six of the next seven points to take a 24-22 lead. Pepperdine’s
offense proved too much, closing out the second game with four kills. Things
never looked promising in the third game as UCSD fell behind early and wasn’t
able to claw its way back into the match.

The height advantage at the net proved to be a larger
difference than either Ring or the players had expected. Pepperdine recorded 15
blocks to UCSD’s five. While UCSD tallied more kills than the Waves, the
Tritons recorded double the number of hitting errors. Spangler noted that UCSD
is not intimidating enough at the net, allowing opposing teams to swing away.

“[Pepperdine and USC] have more discipline with blocks and
are more intimidating,” he said. “Blocking is just not what we work on during
practice and it shows during the games. Night after night we’re not a threat at
the net.”

According to UCSD men’s volleyball head coach Kevin Ring, it is USC’s discipline with blocks and intimidation at the net that puts the Tritons at such a disadvantage, like what they faced in a three-game sweep on Feb. 2. (Sanh Luong/Guardian)

UCSD hoped to rebound against USC on Feb. 2 but were again
swept in their home building. The Trojans clobbered the Tritons 30-26, 30-22,
30-26. UCSD never looked energized as USC dominated all aspects of the
match.

The two teams traded points throughout the first game, with
the last of 10 ties coming at 20. UCSD rallied behind senior outside hitter
Russ Hardy, who gave the Tritons a two point cushion after an ace. But the
Trojans responded with a five-point run and eventually closed out the game.
Game two was uninspiring for the Tritons, as they fell behind early and were
unable to stop the Trojan offense.

Hoping to prevent the sweep, UCSD opened game three scoring
nine of the first 10. The Trojans battled back, tying the game at 15 and later
opening a two-point lead at 20-18. Not wanting to go down without a fight, the
Tritons dug deep, scoring five of the next seven to retake the lead at 23-20.
But once again, the late game lead disappeared during USC’s seven point run to
close the game.

Ring pointed to a number of problems that may have caused
distractions, but he didn’t make excuses.

“Sure, we were in a different time zone, a few guys have
colds, all have midterms and we’re putting 20 hours a week in as an athlete,”
he said. “No one said being a student athlete is easy but every other team in
the league is dealing with the same things we are. You can’t make that an
excuse.”