The UC San Diego men's volleyball team continues to aim for a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoff spot as the 14th-ranked Tritons go up against the nation's best teams each night. So far in 2010, the Tritons have wins over two ranked opponents, including a first-ever win against Pepperdine. A big part of UCSD's success has come from middle blocker Calvin Ross. The local Carlsbad native leads the team with 1.15 blocks per set while adding 1.72 kills per set and a .426 hitting percentage. Ross recently took time to discuss life as a student-athlete on the UC San Diego men's volleyball team.
Q- What are the team goals from now through the rest of the season?
ROSS- As a team we set goals at the beginning of the season. Some of them can no longer be fulfilled but we would like to finish out the season keeping them intact. We said we would like to win all non- conference games, make playoffs and win at least one set per match.
Q- What has been the highlight of your career at UCSD so far?
ROSS- Last year we beat USC in four sets at home. They were ranked in the top five and continued on to the NCAA finals to lose to UC Irvine. It was nice to say that we beat them pretty bad that same year.
Q- What do you consider your greatest attribute on the court? Off the court?
ROSS- Being 6'9" is useful on and off the court. There are very few players in the league that are as tall or taller than I.
Q- How do you spend your time when not playing volleyball?
ROSS- I love to play beach volleyball, which is a very different sport from indoor. Also, I love movies and TV and couches whenever I get the chance.
Q- What would you like to do with your Mechanical Engineering degree?
ROSS- I would like to design cars but I really have no idea what I want to do after I graduate. Engineering is a broad field with many different opportunities.
Q- Was it a difficult choice in deciding to attend UCSD?
ROSS- No, I was born in san diego and there's nowhere else I would rather live. I also knew the assistant coach well because he was my club coach.
Q- You earned all-league honors in high school for water polo. Do you catch many of the Triton water polo games? Do you miss playing the sport?
ROSS- Yeah one of my high school teammates plays on the team, and I miss it a lot. It was tough to choose between the two sports. I miss the pool and being outdoors for practice.
Q- Who are some of the best student-athletes you've faced in your Triton career?
ROSS- Cal State Northridge has been our toughest opponent my entire career. We have yet to take a game off them my entire career.
Q- What has been your favorite men's volleyball roadtrip and why?
ROSS- Hawaii is the best roadtrip for obvious reasons. We get four days off school to play volleyball and hangout on the island.
Q- In your opinion, which MPSF opponent has the most difficult gym to play in and why?
ROSS- Hawaii has a really big gym with a really big, loud crowd. Their crowd has been the most relentless heckling crowd I have heard.
Q- What are some of your favorite places to eat around the San Diego area?
ROSS- Rigobertos in La Jolla is the best, but carl's jr. is also unbeatable, and souplantation is the best buffet place so between those three I don't eat much else besides panda express in price center.
Q- Who are some of your favorite athletes that you look up to?
ROSS- Gerald Houseman was and still is my idol, especially because he played Middle Blocker too. Russ Hardy is also an alumni athlete I look up to and admire.
Previous Q & A Articles
Nicole Saari (Softball) February 4, 2010
Brad Kreutzkamp (Women's Water Polo Head Coach) January 18, 2010
Tyler Acevedo (Men's Basketball) January 4, 2010
Dr. Cliff Kubiak (UCSD's Faculty Athletic Rep) December 18, 2009
Chelsea Carlisle (Women's Basketball) December 9, 2009
Carianne Cunningham (Women's Swimming) November 23, 2009
Elena Inouye (Cross Country) November 6, 2009
David Morton (Men's Water Polo) October 28, 2009
Juan Pablo Carillo (Men's Swimming) October 19, 2009
Sara Spaventa (Women's Soccer) October 10, 2009
Karen Reis (Women's Volleyball) October 2, 2009
Daniel Pavitt (Men's Soccer) September 23, 2009
Daniel Anderson (Cross Country) September 11, 2009
Peter Gresham (Men's Water Polo) September 2, 2009
Alexia Zatarain (Women's Soccer) August 24, 2009
Elaine Chen (Women's Volleyball) August 12, 2009
Jared Kukura (Men's Soccer) July 30, 2009
Dawn Lee (Former Women's Soccer Standout) July 8, 2009
Rob Mamula (Director of Athletic Performance) June 18, 2009
Garrett Imeson (Baseball) June 8, 2009
Leon Baham (Men's Track & Field) May 21, 2009
Kristyn Lesovsky (Softball) May 8, 2009
Kazumi Negishi (Men's Tennis) May 5, 2009
Laiah Blue (Women's Track & Field) April 16, 2009
Ryan Andre (Men's Crew) April 2, 2009
Josh Tanner (Baseball) March 24, 2009
Anju Shimura (Women's Swimming) March 7, 2009
Stephanie Bocian (Women's Water Polo) February 20, 2009
Lauren Chastain (Softball) February 5, 2009
A.J. Maulhardt (Men's Basketball) January 28, 2009
Annette Ilg (Women's Basketball) January 22, 2009
