VOLLEYBALL ‘mdash; The UCSD men’s volleyball team (7-6 overall, 5-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) got back into action this weekend while taking on the No. 9 Brigham Young University Cougars in Provo, Utah. Looking to carry their recent success into league play against a team they had never previously beaten, the Tritons were swept on back-to-back nights 30-24, 30-22, 30-21 and 30-28, 30-18, 30-17.
‘This weekend at BYU we did not play up to our potential, and unfortunately for us, BYU played extremely well,’ senior libero Eric Leserman said. ‘There were some positives, however, including [junior opposite hitter] Frank Fritsch having a great weekend for us.’
After suffering a sweep the previous night, UCSD had a chance to take the first set on Saturday, leading by five points before the Cougars rallied back late and took the match.
The Tritons broke a 10-10 tie in the opening set, scoring three straight points to go ahead 13-10 after a dual block by Bannan and senior middle back Gerald Houseman. UCSD would go on to take a 17-12 lead after taking advantage of consecutive BYU errors. When the Cougars cut the lead to 17-15, the Tritons surged again to 20-15 and continued to control the set. With the score 28-25 in UCSD’s favor, BYU came back on a block and a Triton error to bring the score to 28-27. After a UCSD timeout, BYU scored three straight to take the set by a score of 30-27.
UCSD was led by Fritsch, who had 10 kills on .381 hitting. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Will Ehrman did his part with nine kills while Leserman had seven digs. Sophomore setter Phil Bannan had 36 assists and five digs.
BYU dominated the second set, as the Cougars opened up to an early 10-5 lead. After the Tritons closed the margin on a junior opposite hitter Jason Spangler kill at 12-11, BYU went on a 6-0 run to take an overpowering 18-11 lead. The Cougars would go on cruise control for a 30-18 win in the second set.
The third set was also controlled by BYU after the Cougars jumped out to a 15-8 lead, forcing a Triton timeout. BYU continued its tear and finished the sweep of UCSD with a decisive 30-17 victory.
On Friday night, the Tritons were held to a measly .071 hitting as BYU controlled each set.
BYU set the tone of the night in the first set, surging to an early 20-13 lead. UCSD then stormed back behind Fritsch to cut the lead by two points, at 24-22. After a score of 26-24, BYU closed the door, scoring the last four points and winning 30-24. The Cougars controlled the entire second set, eventually taking it by a score of 30-22.
BYU once again jumped out to an early lead in the third set, but UCSD came back to put up a fight. The Tritons took only their second lead of the night after consecutive block assists from redshirt sophomore middle back Adrian Guthals and Ehrman for a 15-14 lead. However, more of the same took place after a scorching BYU offense went on an 8-1 tear after trailing 18-17. The Cougars swept the Tritons and sealed the third set with a 30-21 win.
Fritsch led the Triton attack with 16 kills on .345 hitting, with eight of the kills coming in the first set. Kent Tuttle, who had 12 kills, led BYU.
After back-to-back sweeps at the hands of the Cougars, UCSD must get back on track in MPSF play to solidify a playoff spot. After eight straight games on the road, the Tritons will finally return home to RIMAC to host MPSF powerhouses UC Irvine, UCLA, University of Southern California, Pepperdine University and University of Hawaii in consecutive matches.
‘We are very excited to finally be returning to play in RIMAC,’ Leserman said. ‘Our matches this week against UC Irvine and UCLA are both going to be tough, but if we put together a solid game there is a great chance for a UCSD victory or two.’
Readers can contact Cameron Tillisch at [email protected].