LA JOLLA, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball tallied its sixth sweep of the season, taking care of UC Riverside in straight sets on Saturday evening in LionTree Arena.
 
The Tritons (12-14, 5-9 Big West) made quick work of the Highlanders (4-19, 2-12 Big West), taking all three sets 25-22, 25-13, 25-20. With the win, the Tritons split the season series with UCR.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego held the advantage in all statistical categories including blocks (3-2), aces (9-7), assists (43-26), digs (54-41) and kills (46-28). The Tritons hit .314 as a team, compared to .163 for the Highlanders.
 
Freshman Katie Rapp tied her career high with 12 kills and recorded her first career double-double with 10 digs, adding three aces to finish with a match-high 15.5 points.  Zaria Henderson also finished with a match-high 12 kills and added 11 digs for her tenth double-double of the season.
 
Additionally, Ava McInnes tallied eight kills and two aces, while Izzi Strand finished with 37 assists and two aces. Defensively, Shara Da Silva led the team with two blocks and Naya Dong finished with a team-best 17 digs.
 
The teams traded the lead back-and-forth to a 16-16 tie in the opening set, before UC San Diego put together a five-point scoring run to lead 21-16. The Highlanders made a late rally and fought off two set points, but the Tritons took the first frame, 25-22.
 
In the second set, UC San Diego used an early 11-1 run to take a commanding 14-5 lead. UC Riverside rallied for a five-point scoring run but the Tritons quickly took back the momentum, outscoring UCR 11-3 to close out the set. UC San Diego scored the final three points to take the second frame, 25-13, and the 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Tritons carried the momentum into the final set, jumping out to a 16-7 lead. UC Riverside continued to battle, going on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 17-14. UC San Diego remained in control, however, cruising to a 25-20 third-set victory and earning the sweep.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The 3-0 victory marked UC San Diego's sixth sweep of an opponent this season.
• Their .315 hitting percentage was the fifth time the Tritons have hit over .300 this season.
• Freshman Katie Rapp tied her career high with 12 kills and recorded her first career double-double, adding 10 digs.
• Zaria Henderson tallied her tenth double-double of the season.
• Naya Dong recorded double-figure digs for the 25th time this season.
• With the victory, UC San Diego improves to 8-14 in the all-time series with UC Riverside and splits the season series 1-1 after falling to the Highlanders on the road, 3-2, on Sept. 29.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up its home schedule next weekend, playing host to UC Irvine on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT. The Tritons will celebrate seniors Grace Cannon, Naya Dong and Dani Mason before taking on Big West-leader Hawai'i on Friday at 7 p.m. PT. The matches 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.