MEN’S VOLLEYBALL — The Tritons had a long to-do list during
their final three home games of the 2008 season. First, they upset No. 8 UCLA
on March 28 for their first ever victory over the Bruins. Next, UCSD beat No. 9
UC Irvine for the second time this season on March 29 for the program’s first
ever season sweep of a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team. After the two
historic wins, UCSD had a chance to reach double-digit wins for the first time
in school history with a win over
but fell in four games on April 1.
In what could be considered one of the best weekends in
program history, head coach Kevin Ring said he is proud of how far the program
has progressed this season.
“During this last home stretch we won five out of nine and
competed against two of the premier teams in the country,” he said. “We have
always said that we can play with the top teams in the MPSF and we have at
moments. I really see playoffs as the next big goal for this program. We’re on
the rise.”
The magical week started against the Bruins as the Tritons
prevailed 26-30, 30-25, 32-30, 31-33, 15-9. Sophomore outside hitter Jason
Spangler slammed down 30 kills along with five digs, two blocks and an ace to
lead the Tritons.
UCLA dominated game one, using a 9-5 run that opened up a
26-20 lead. The Tritons closed within three, but it wasn’t enough to overcome
the powerful Bruins team.
The Tritons took game two due in large part to a four-point
run that gave them the late-game lead at 27-23. The Tritons followed the win
with another in game three. Facing game point at 27-29, UCSD took advantage of
a UCLA missed serve when freshman setter Phil Bannan and freshman middle
blocker Calvin Ross recorded a block to give sophomore opposite Frank Fritsch
the opportunity to serve up an ace to close the game.
After trading points until a tie at 28, Spangler gave the
Tritons a match point in game four. UCLA gritted out the win, but only after
losing one of its setters to a red card after he flipped the scorers book
toward the scorer after receiving a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The fourth-game heartbreak was enough to fuel the Tritons to
storm out in game five, holding the Bruins to a .000 hitting percentage while
tallying 11 kills against just one error to get the victory.
The momentum from the victory over UCLA carried over into
the Tritons’ March 29 match against UC Irvine as UCSD prevailed in thrilling
fashion 33-31, 25-30, 24-30, 30-25, 15-11.
Game one was close the entire way with 23 ties and 13 lead
changes. The Anteaters led 27-29 but a service error and a block by Ross tied
the game. Spangler and Ross gave the Tritons their second game point and
Spangler took advantage, notching the game-winning kill.
UCSD scored the first 10 points of game two before UC Irvine
went on a 15-5 run to take the lead 17-13 — a lead the Tritons would never
relinquish. Game three was little different as UCSD was never closer than three
in the late stages.
Freshman outside hitter Joel Davidson broke the 25-25 tie in
game four to spark a 5-0 run that closed out the game for a UCSD win. The run
increased the Triton momentum, as the team fired on all cylinders in game five
to take an early 3-1 lead and never let the Anteaters back in the match.
According to Ring, sweeping a season series against an MPSF
opponent is tough, especially for a Triton squad that relies on a balanced
attack.
“You cannot have an off night,” he said. “We’re a team that
has to spread the offense and have a number of guys put up good stats. That
doesn’t always happen.”
The Tritons’ three-game winning streak came to an end at the
hands of Cal Baptist 22-30, 30-27, 30-26, 30-24.
After falling behind early in game one, an error-prone Cal
Baptist team gave the Tritons the lead and UCSD never looked back. Both teams
played scrappy defense but UCSD came up with timely kills and blocks to earn
the opening game win.
UCSD opened up its largest lead of game two, 25-22, after a
Spangler ace, but the Lancers closed on an 8-2 run to steal the game and tie
the match. Cal Baptist did the same in game three, closing the game on an 8-4
run.
Ring made late-game substitutions in the hopes of reigniting
the Tritons’ offense, but nothing worked.
“We were kind of struggling and not putting up good
numbers,” he said. “We made a couple of changes that worked for us against UC
Irvine and it just didn’t happen last night.”
The Tritons looked lackadaisical in game four as the Lancers
controlled the tempo. UCSD closed within 21-20 but Cal Baptist scored nine of
the next 13 to take the match.
