SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Outside hitter Kyle McCauley put down a match-high 19 kills but it wasn't enough as the 13th-ranked University of California San Diego men's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 defeat at No. 4 UC Santa Barbara Wednesday.

Scores of the non-conference match at Rob Gym went 25-18, 26-28, 25-18, and 25-19. With the loss, the Tritons dropped to 0-3 on the season. It was the season opener for the Gauchos.

UC San Diego hit just .213 (52-23-136) for the match, while UCSB swung at a healthy .353 (133-62-15). The Gauchos also owned advantages in blocks (9-4), digs (51-45), and service aces (4-2).

The Tritons got another solid outing from Logan Clark, who finished with 13 kills, a new career best. After hitting .800 last week in a match against Hawaii, Clark hit a blistering .650 today with no errors in 20 attack attempts. McCauley also logged nine digs and a block solo to go along with his kill total, while libero Matt Palma had 11 digs on the defensive side. Setter Blake Crisp amassed 39 assists, nine digs, and a block solo. Ryan Ka had eight kills and Collin Shannon had seven.

For UC Santa Barbara, Randy DeWeese matched McCauley with 19 kills. Keenan Sanders followed with 16 and Ryan Wilcox had 13. Sanders, who totaled five blocks at the net, made no hitting errors in 20 swings for an .800 attack percentage. Setter Casey McGarry had 51 assists and, along with teammate Roy McFarland, led all players with 13 digs.

TRITON TIDBITS
• UC San Diego's last lead in the opening set came at 9-8.
• In set two, the Tritons took the lead at 2-1 and stayed in front until it was tied 23-23. 
• In that second set, UC San Diego led by as many as five points on five occasions, the final time at 18-13.
• At 26-26, a Gaucho service error followed by a block by Logan Clark and Collin Shannon earned the Tritons the set win.
• In set three, UCSB jumped out to a 5-0 lead and remained ahead the whole way. The Gauchos also scored the final five points of the set.
• The Tritons had the fourth set tied at 13-13, but the Gauchos scored the next point and kept the lead all the way to the end of the match.  
• The Tritons and Gauchos met just once last season with UCSB taking a 3-1 victory on March 6 in Santa Barbara.
• Kyle McCauley posted a match-high 18 kills in that contest.
• The Big West Conference rivals were slated to play again on April 17 in La Jolla, but the NCAA had already canceled its winter and spring championships due to COVID.

QUOTABLES
"It was a tough loss tonight against a strong UCSB squad. We passed and served well and Logan Clark had another big match, but we did not have the overall offensive production needed to win. We're looking to bounce back tomorrow night with aspects of our game that are within our control. Improvement with our block and defense will be key to slow down UCSB's offense." - Head Coach Kevin Ring

UP NEXT
The Tritons and Gauchos go at it again on Thursday, March 4 inside Rob Gym. First serve for the rematch is set for 4 p.m.

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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 began a new era in 2020 as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions III and II and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned 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 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.

Return To Sport… Safely
In order for UC San Diego scholar-athletes to be permitted to return to training and competition safely and within federal, state, local, and university guidelines, the athletic department implemented a number of measures designed to complement and enhance the university's highly-successful Return To Learn program. Notable actions include being physically distanced when practical, including during out-of-season training sessions; wearing masks, except when undergoing physically strenuous exercise; and maintaining proper hygiene. Athletes, coaches, and staff are testing at a higher frequency than the campus population, teams adhere to CDC, NCAA, and Big West Conference guidelines, and department officials participate in regular meetings with conference and university-affiliated physicians and the UC San Diego emergency operations staff.