LA JOLLA, Calif.–In its final week of home competition this season, UC San Diego women's volleyball fell to UC Irvine in straight sets, 3-0, on Thursday evening in LionTree Arena. 
 
The Tritons (12-15, 5-10 Big West) dropped sets 21-25, 16-25, 20-25 and fell to 0-2 in the season series with the Anteaters (16-9, 9-6 Big West).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego was held to a .087 hitting percentage—its lowest of the season—while UCI finished the night hitting .198. The Tritons held the advantage in aces, 3-2, but the Anteaters held the advantage in all other statistical categories including blocks (10-7) and digs (66-57).
 
Ava McInnes finished with 15 kills for the Tritons, while Emily McDaniel and Katie Rapp added five each. Shara Da Silva led UC San Diego defensively at the net with four blocks, while McDaniel added three and McInnes tallied two. Izzi Strand finished with 24 assists and 10 digs for her 12th double-double of the season. Naya Dong tallied a team-high 16 digs, while Rapp finished with 12.
 
The Tritons took an early 7-3 lead in set one, before UCI tallied four consecutive points to pull even. With the set tied 10-10, the Anteaters went on an 8-2 run to create distance at 18-12. It looked as if UC Irvine would win the first set handily, leading 23-15, but the Tritons rallied late on a six-point run with Dong at the service line to make it 23-21. UCI cut the comeback short, scoring the final two points to take the opening frame, 25-21.
 
The second set saw the Anteaters jump out to the early lead, 9-5, before the Tritons strung together four-straight points to tie things at 9-all. UCI answered with a six-point run of their own, to pull back in front and never looked back, cruising to a 25-16 second-set victory.
 
In the final set, UC Irvine built a 14-6 lead early and looked as if it had the match in hand. After trailing by as many as eight points, the Tritons continued to battle down the stretch, and pulled within two points late at 21-19. However, UCI closed out the set on a 4-1 run to take the set, 25-20, and secure the sweep. 
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Ava McInnes tallied double-figure kills for the 23rd time this season.
• Naya Dong recorded her 26th match with double-figure digs.
• Izzi Strand recorded her 12th double-double of the season.
• With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 0-8 in the all-time series with UC Irvine and 0-2 in the season series.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will conclude its home schedule against Big-West leader, Hawai'i on Friday evening at 7 p.m. PT in LionTree Arean. The Tritons will celebrate seniors Grace Cannon, Naya Dong and Dani Mason before the contest. 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.