April 12, 2000
San Diego -
A resilient UC San Diego squad, in front of a home crowd of 651 at the Rimac Arena, closed the door on the San Diego State men's volleyball program.
The chance of the San Diego State men's volleyball team capping-off the program's 33-year history on a positive note, came up short tonight. The Tritons hit all cylinders, coming from behind to knock off the Aztecs in a thrilling five game Mountain Pacific Sports Federation battle, 3-2, (6-15, 12-15, 17-16, 15-12, and 15-12). SDSU concludes the season with a 4-18 record and 2-17 mark in MPSF play.
In the last match ever for SDSU men's volleyball, senior Mike Szymanski, one of five seniors playing their final collegiate match for the Scarlet and Black, led the squad with 29 kills. Team captain Sean Mackin added a triple-double with 24 kills for a .364 hitting percentage, 12 total blocks, including nine assisted, and ten digs.
Jed Stotensberg registered four kills on seven attacks and no errors off the bench. Mike Koch, a fifth-year senior at SDSU, recorded a double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs. Senior setter John Engstrom registered eight total blocks, nine digs and 100 assists in the setback.
The Aztecs also received contribution from several underclassmen. Michael DeRaffaele tallied 23 kills and two service aces. Freshman Phil Peterson notched 11 kills and six total blocks. Junior Casey Brewer registered a kill and two digs.
The night though, belonged to UCSD's Donald Chen who finished with a match-high 38 kills. UCSD improved its record to 7-18 overall and earned its first MPSF win.