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UC Irvine

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at UC Irvine

3/27/2026 | 6 PM


Mar. 27 (Fri) / 6 PM


at UC Irvine

History

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. — No. 12 UC San Diego men’s volleyball played its third-straight five set match on Friday, this time coming out on top in a 18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13 victory at No. 17 CSUN.
 
The Tritons (11-7, 2-1 Big West) were led by outside hitter Sebastiano Sani, who hit .444 and had 15 kills. Opposite hitter Luke Chandler was close behind with 14 kills. Outside hitter Leo Pravednikov and middle blocker Jim Garrison both had 11 kills and four block assists, with Pravednikov also adding a solo block. Setter John Luers had 52 assists and four kills.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN enjoyed a strong start to the match, hitting .500 in set one and compiling 15 kills. The Tritons were held to .200 hitting. The Matadors led 17-15 before closing the set on an 8-3 run that featured five kills to take the first 25-18.
 
UC San Diego bounced back well in the second, opening up an early 11-6 lead after an ace by Sani. The closest the Matadors were able to get the rest of the way was down three, with the Tritons leading by as much as seven. UC San Diego won four of the last five points to help cement the 25-19 set win.
 
The Tritons had four of their nine aces in the match during the third set as Chandler, Garrison, Pravednikov and Sani each had one. The score was tied at 18 until Chandler’s ace and a Sani kill gave the Tritons a small lead at 20-18. The two teams then traded points the rest of the way to give the Tritons the 25-22 set victory.
 
CSUN came roaring back in set four, landing 16 kills with just one attack error to hit .682 in the frame. The Matadors led 19-14 before the Tritons cut the lead to two at multiple points down the stretch, but the visitors were unable to come all the way back. Three of the last four rallies went to CSUN as the hosts forced a fifth set with a 25-21 victory.
 
The final set was the Tritons’ turn to put in a blistering offensive showing. The team got 12 of their 15 points on kills and had just one attack error on 17 swings for a .647 clip. CSUN led 6-5 until a service error and kills from Garrison and Pravednikov gave the Tritons a two-point advantage up 8-6. That advantage would hold as the Tritons won the set by two, 15-13, with another Garrison kill finishing off the five-set contest.
 
TRITON TIDBITS


Luers’ 52 assists are a new career high.
The Tritons are now 2-3 in five set matches this season.
UC San Diego completed the season sweep of CSUN after previously beating the Matadors 3-0 in La Jolla on Mar. 3.

QUOTABLE
“Awesome to get out of the Matadome with a victory,” head coach Brad Rostratter said. “Winning in five sets was fitting given the past two matches that we had not going our way. It was nice to be on the positive end of a five-set match. I thought overall after the first set we really did a good job of responding and cleaning up our serve receive and our serving, and it created a lot of pressure on Northridge. We did a really good job offensively at attacking and hitting with range and being a little cleaner than we have been. I am proud of the growth and proud of the team as they keep getting better and keep improving.”
 
UP NEXT
The Tritons have a week off for finals and will be back on the court Mar. 27 at UC Irvine. The two teams will then square off in La Jolla on Mar. 28.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 24-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 39 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world’s preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
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