2023 UC San Diego Tritons men's volleyball team

The 2023 UC San Diego Tritons men's volleyball team represents the University of California San Diego in the 2023 NCAA Division I & II men's volleyball season. The Tritons, led by first year head coach Brad Rostratter,^[2] play their home games at the LionTree Arena. The Tritons compete as members of the Big West Conference and were picked to finish sixth in the Big West preseason poll.^[3]

2023 UC San Diego Tritons men's volleyball
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	8–17 (2–8 Big West)
Head coach	Brad Rostratter (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Jon Girten (6th season) Taylor Hammond (1st season)
Home arena	LionTree Arena^[1]
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 Big West Conference men's volleyball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 2 Hawai'i ‍†‍‡‍^y	9	–	1		.900			29	–	3		.906
No. 4 Long Beach State ‍†‍‍^y	9	–	1		.900			21	–	5		.808
No. 5 UC Irvine  ‍‍‍	6	–	4		.600			18	–	11		.621
UC Santa Barbara  ‍‍‍	3	–	7		.300			8	–	17		.320
UC San Diego  ‍‍‍	2	–	8		.200			8	–	17		.320
CSUN  ‍‍‍	1	–	9		.100			12	–	16		.429
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 Big West Tournament champion y- Invited to the NCAA volleyball tournament As of August 25, 2023 Rankings from AVCA

Preseason

Coaches poll

The preseason poll was released on December 21, 2022. UC San Diego was picked to finish last in the Big West Conference standings.^[4]

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Hawai'i	25 (5)
2	Long Beach State	19
3	UC Irvine	17 (1)
4	UC Santa Barbara	13
5	CSUN	10
6	UC San Diego	6

Roster

2023 UC San Diego Tritons Roster^[5]
	Defensive Specialist/Libero 5 Evan Boyle - Freshman 20 Paya Vatanshenas -   Sophomore Middle Blockers 12 Nick Rigo - Junior 14 Jim Garrison -   Freshman 15 Zachary Weston - Sophomore 23 Spiro Maranda - Sophomore 24 Peter Selcho -   Freshman 25 Michael Urdahl -   Senior		Outside Hitters 1 Ben Blakely - Sophomore 6 Leo Pravednikov - Freshman 7 Matthew Lim - Sophomore 9 Ryan Ka -   Senior 10 Josh Schellinger -   Freshman 11 Brett Pursley -   Freshman 21 Joshua Ewert - Freshman 22 Sam Warren - Sophomore		Opposite Hitters 1 Ben Blakely - Sophomore 3 Gabriel Dyer - Sophomore 13 Berkeley Miesfeld -   Senior 16 Michael Robertson - Freshman Setters 2 Cameron Wurl - Freshman 3 Gabriel Dyer - Sophomore 18 Andrew Boyle - Junior

Schedule

TV/Internet Streaming/Radio information:

ESPN+ will carry all home and conference road games. All other road broadcasts will be carried by the schools respective streaming partner.

Date Time	Opponent	Rank	Arena City (Tournament)	Television	Score	Attendance	Record (Big West Record)
1/5 8 p.m.	vs. Lincoln Memorial		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		W 3–2 (25–18, 15–25, 25–23, 20–25, 16–14)	97	1–0
1/6 3 p.m.	vs. #2 UCLA		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		L 0–3 (18–25, 16–25, 14–25)	115	1–1
1/7 5:30 p.m.	vs. #10 USC		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA (UCSB Asics Invitational)		L 2–3 (25–22, 25–20, 16–25, 22–25, 12–15)	212	1–2
1/13 5 p.m.	@ #12 Loyola Chicago		Joseph J. Gentile Arena Chicago, IL	ESPN+	L 0-3 (20–25, 24–26, 18–25)	1,403	1-3
1/14 5 p.m.	@ #15 Lewis		Neil Carey Arena Romeoville, IL	GLVC SN	L 1-3 (25-27, 20–25, 25–23, 23-25)	800	1-4
1/17 6 p.m.	Emmanuel		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–12, 25–20, 25–16)	295	2–4
1/18 7 p.m.	Menlo		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3–0 (25–14, 25–21, 25–22)	433	3-4
1/21 7 p.m.	@ #2 UCLA		Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA	P12 LA	L 0-3 (15-25, 23–25, 18–25)	923	3-5
1/28 4 p.m.	vs. Erskine		GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ	GCU TV	W 3-0 (25-21, 25–20, 25–15)	105	4-5
1/29 2 p.m.	@ #9 Grand Canyon		GCU Arena Phoenix, AZ	ESPN+	L 0-3 (19-25, 19–25, 23–25)	459	4-6
2/3 7 p.m.	Ottawa		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3-0 (25-15, 25–16, 25–20)	341	5-6
2/14 7 p.m.	Westcliff		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3-0 (26-24, 25–17, 25–10)	121	6-6
2/21 7 p.m.	@ Concordia Irvine		CU Arena Irvine, CA	EagleEye	L 1-3 (23-25, 25-22, 15-25, 21-25)	126	6-7
2/24 7 p.m.	#14 CSUN*		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	L 1-3 (25-23, 18-25, 23-25, 21-25)	556	6-8 (0-1)
3/03 7 p.m.	@ UC Santa Barbara*		Robertson Gymnasium Santa Barbara, CA	ESPN+	L 1-3 (25-20, 22-25, 26-28, 22-25)	403	6-9 (0-2)
3/05 2 p.m.	#12 Ball State		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	L 2-3 (25-23, 19-25, 15-25, 25-23, 12-15)	301	6-10
3/10 7 p.m.	@ UC Irvine*		Bren Events Center Irvine, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (17-25, 23-25, 16-25)	932	6-11 (0-3)
3/11 7 p.m.	UC Irvine*		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (16-25, 17-25, 14-25)	910	6-12 (0-4)
3/16 7 p.m.	@ #12 CSUN*		Premier America Credit Union Arena Northridge, CA	ESPN+	W 3-0' (25-21, 25-22, 25-20)	280	7-12 (1-4)
3/31 7 p.m.	#4 Long Beach State*		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (22-25, 13-25, 16-25)	760	7-13 (1-5)
4/01 7 p.m.	@ #4 Long Beach State*		Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA	ESPN+	L 0-3 (15-25, 17-25, 13-25)	1,413	7-14 (1-6)
4/07 7 p.m.	UC Santa Barbara*		LionTree Arena La Jolla, CA	ESPN+	W 3-2 (25-20, 20-25, 19-25, 25-14, 15-13)	851	8-14 (2-6)
4/14 10 p.m.	@ #1 Hawai'i*		Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI	ESPN+	L 1-3 (26-28, 17-25, 25-19, 14-25)	7,022	8-15 (2-7)
4/15 10 p.m.	@ #1 Hawai'i*		Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI	ESPN+	L 0-3 (19-25, 22-25, 21-25)	10,300	8-16 (2-8)
4/20 5 p.m.	UC Santa Barbara ^(4)	^(5)	Bren Events Center Irvine, CA (Big West Quarterfinal)	ESPN+	L 2-3 (18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 12-15)	1	8-17

*-Indicates conference match.

Times listed are Pacific Time Zone.

Announcers for televised games

• Loyola Chicago: Ray Gooden & Henry Payne ^[6]
• Lewis: Allie Lankowicz & Hannah Alvey
• Emmanuel: Bryan Fenley & Ricci Luyties
• Menlo: Bryan Fenley & Ricci Luyties
• UCLA:
• Erskine:
• Grand Canyon:
• Ottawa:
• USC:
• Westcliff:
• Concordia Irvine:
• CSUN:
• UC Santa Barbara:
• Ball State:
• UC Irvine:
• UC Irvine:
• CSUN:
• Long Beach State:
• Long Beach State:
• UC Santa Barbara:
• Hawai'i:
• Hawai'i:
• Big West Tournament:

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AVCA Coaches	RV	—	—
Off the Block Media	Not released		—

^The Media did not release a Pre-season or Week 1 poll.

References

1. "UC San Diego changes name of RIMAC Arena to LionTree Arena". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 15, 2022.
2. "Vanguard's Rostratter Heading to Uc San Diego; Vallely Promoted to Head Coach". Victory Sports Network. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
3. "Hawai'i picked to win 2023 Big West title in preseason poll". Off the Block. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
4. "Preseason Poll and First Preseason Team Released as The Big West Looks for Fifth Straight National Champion in Men's Volleyball". Big West Conference. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
5. "2023 UC San Diego Tritons Men's Volleyball Roster". ucsbgauchos.com. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
6. "Back at it". Twitter. Retrieved January 13, 2023.