LA JOLLA, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball battled in their tenth five-set match this season, falling to Long Beach State, 3-2, on Friday evening in LionTree Arena.
The Tritons (8-11, 1-6 Big West) had three match points in the deciding set, but could not secure the victory over the Beach (9-6, 4-3 Big West) falling 24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 21-25, 14-16.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was another tightly contested match that lasted 2 hours and 31 minutes with 27 ties and 15 lead changes. UC San Diego held the advantage in blocks (11-8) and aces (6-4), while LBSU topped the Tritons in hitting percentage (.251 to .195), digs (83-77), kills (72-68) and assists (71-64).
Ava McInnes tallied a career-high 31 kills on 85 swings, hitting .282 in the match and added one solo block for 32.0 points.
Zaria Henderson recorded 15 kills and 17 digs for her ninth double-double, while
Emily McDaniel also reached double-figure kills with 12 and added four blocks.
Izzi Strand also recorded a career-high, finishing with 59 assists and adding nine digs, two aces and four blocks.
Shara Da Silva led the defense at the net with five blocks, while
Naya Dong tied Henderson with a team-best 17 digs.
Natalie Repetti also recorded double-figure digs with 15.
After battling to a 13-13 tie in the opening set, the teams traded scoring runs—first a 4-0 run for the Tritons, followed by a 6-0 run by LBSU to take the lead 19-17. UC San Diego reached set point first, 24-23, but the Beach outscored the Tritons 6-1 to close out the set, 26-24.
UC San Diego jumped out to a 10-4 lead in set two and held the lead until the Beach pulled even at 16-all. The teams remained close until the Tritons secured back-to-back points to end the set on a McInnes kill and an LBSU attack error and take the second frame, 25-22.
In the third set, neither team led by more than three points in another back-and-forth battle. With the Tritons trailing, 16-19, UC San Diego outscored Long Beach, 9-3, down the stretch to close out the third set, 25-22, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set saw the Tritons leading early, 7-5, before LBSU went on an 8-point run to take the lead. UC San Diego continued to battle, fighting off two set points, but the Beach eventually took the set, 25-21, to force a deciding fifth set.
In the final frame, the Tritons took the early 7-4 lead but Long Beach answered with a 3-0 run to tie the set, 7-7. It looked as if UC San Diego had the match in hand after a 5-1 run gave the Tritons match point at 14-11. However, the Beach rattled off five-straight points to hand UC San Diego a heartbreaker of a loss, 16-14.
TRITON TIDBITS
- It marked the 10th time the Tritons have gone the distance. UC San Diego is 2-8 in five-set matches this season.
- Ava McInnes tallied a career high 31 kills—her third 20+ kill match of the season and first 30+ match of her career.
- Izzi Strand tallied a career-best 59 assists, her previous mark at 44 twice this season.
- Zaria Henderson recorded her ninth double-double.
- With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 0-3 in the all-time series with Long Beach State and 0-1 this season.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain home to play host to Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT in LionTree Arena. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
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 II and III 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.
