THIBODAUX, La. – UC San Diego opened up the Colonel Classic on Friday with back-to-back match wins over Southern Illinois, 3-0, and host Nicholls, 3-1, at Stopher Gym.
 
With the wins, the Tritons improved to 4-1 to open the season, while Southern Illinois dropped to 2-3 and Nicholls fell to 3-2. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego 3, Southern Illinois 0
The Tritons took the early match over the Salukis, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20. It was the first sweep of the season for UC San Diego. 
 
Ava McInnes led all hitters with 18 kills, while Zaria Henderson added 13 kills and added 11 digs for her first double-double of the season. Izzi Strand paced the offense to a .325 hitting percentage, tallying 35 assists. Defensively, the Tritons outblocked SIU, 10-2, led by Shara Da Silva with six blocks and Grace Cannon with five, while Naya Dong collected a match-high 18 digs.
 
The first set saw a back-and-forth battle to a 11-11 tie, before UC San Diego went on an 8-2 run to build a comfortable lead and win the opening set, 25-16. 
 
In set two, SIU took an early 9-3 lead before the Tritons answered with a four-point run. Later, a 6-0 run finally gave UC San Diego the lead, 17-14, and another 4-0 run helped secure the second-set victory, 25-21. 
 
In the final frame, the Tritons jumped out to a 15-7 lead midway through the set before the Salukis challenged late. SIU put together a 5-1 run to make it 23-18 and fought off two match points before the Tritons eventually secured the victory, 25-20.
 
UC San Diego 3, Nicholls 1
In the Tritons second match of the day they fought off the host school in four sets, 25-16, 16-25, 25-21, 25-21. 
 
McInnes (17), Henderson (15) and Emily McDaniel (14) all registered double digit kills in the contest. Strand recorded her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 39 assists and 13 digs and directing the offense to a .303 hitting percentage in the match. The Tritons held the advantage at the net again, outblocking the Colonels, 9-6, led by Da Silva with seven blocks. Dong tallied a match-high 18 digs in the back court, while Natalie Repetti added 10.
 
Set one was tied up early, 12-12, before UC San Diego went on a dominant 11-1 run and never looked back, taking the opening frame, 25-16.
 
Momentum shifted in the second set, where the Colonels benefitted from a 5-0 run and a 9-0 run to build their lead, 21-9. The Tritons rallied late to score six straight points but the deficit proved too much and Nicholls closed out the set easily, 25-16, evening the match, 1-1.
 
The Colonels carried the momentum into the third set with a 9-4 lead before UC San Diego tied the set with five consecutive points. The teams traded runs before a 5-0 rally gave the Tritons the lead for good. UC San Diego outscored the Colonels 5-1 to close out the set, 25-21, and retake the match lead, 2-1.
 
The final set saw Nicholls leading by seven points as late as 12-5 before the UC San Diego offense came alive. The Tritons scored on five consecutive kills and eventually evened the set at 14-all. The teams traded points before UC San Diego closed out the frame on a 7-2 run to secure the four-set victory.
 
QUOTABLE
"This was a first for UC San Diego to win two matches in one day as a Division I program," said head coach Ricci Luyties. "I'm so happy the players are getting the validation that their hard work is paying off. There are still a lot of areas of the game that we can improve at, so I'm excited to see how much better this team can get as this season goes on."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons' .325 hitting percentage is their best since Oct. 25, 2019 against Humboldt State (.344) and their best of the Division I era.
• With her performance Friday (13 total blocks), Shara Da Silva currently leads the Big West in blocks per set with 1.55. Da Silva has 31 total blocks which is 11-more than the second place (20) in the conference.
• It was the first meeting between UC San Diego and both Southern Illinois and Nicholls. The Tritons now lead the all-time series with both programs, 1-0.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up their time in Thibodaux, La. with their third and final match of the Colonel Classic against Southern U on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT. 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.