March 1, 2000
San Diego -
The San Diego State men's volleyball team continued its winning ways against inner-city rival UC San Diego tonight. The Aztecs defeated the Tritons, 3-0, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at Peterson Gym. The Aztecs snapped a six-match losing streak with a 15-12, 15-13, 17-16 victory. The win marks SDSU's first conference win of the season and their fifth straight against UCSD. The Aztecs are 2-11 overall and 1-11 in MPSF play. The Tritons drop their record to 4-10 overall and remain winless in conference action at 0-10.
The combination of middle blockers Michael DeRaffaele and Sean Mackin proved to be to much for UC San Diego. SDSU outblocked the Tritons, 18-9, at the net. DeRaffaele, a sophomore, notched a team-high 26 kills, leading to a match-high .413 hitting percentage. He added eight digs and three total blocks. Mackin, the team's captain, tallied 17 kills to go along with 11 total blocks for the evening.
Senior outside hitter Mike Szymanski collected 22 kills, while classmate Mike Koch registered a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs, propelling SDSU to the win.
UCSD's Donald Chen led all players with a match-high 30 kills and 15 digs.
The San Diego State men's volleyball team returns to action this Saturday, when they play host to MPSF foe, University of Pacific. Match time is scheduled at 7 p.m. at Peterson Gym. The match is the second of a four-match homestand for SDSU, which began tonight. The Aztecs play host to Lewis University on Wednesday, March 8, and then Rutgers University on Monday, March 13. Both matches are 7 p.m. starts.