RIVERSIDE, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball defeated UC Riverside, 3-2, on Thursday evening in the Big West season opener.
The Tritons (7-5, 1-0 Big West) battled in five sets with the Highlanders (5-9, 0-1 Big West), taking the match by scores of 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 19-25 and 15-8 in the SRC Arena.
Ava McInnes led the Tritons with 21 kills, 17 digs, three aces and two blocks for a match-high 25 points. Two more Tritons finished with double-doubles, including
Audrey Hollis with 15 kills and 22 assists and
Lauren Brooker with 16 digs and 23 assists.
Kylie Pries also recorded double figure kills with 14.
Defensively, UC San Diego was led by
Jasmine Saran with six blocks, while Brooker added five.
Paulina Baillie tallied 13 digs and nine assists, just shy of her first career double-double.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams battled to an 8-8 tie early in the opening set before UCR put together a five-point scoring run to create distance, 13-8. The Tritons responded with a four-point run of their own to make it 17-16 but were unable to pull any closer. The Highlanders took the opening set, 25-23.
Riverside built an early 7-4 lead in set two before UC San Diego scored seven unanswered with
Sabire Karacaova at the service line. The run included three kills from McInnes and two blocks by the Tritons to lead, 12-7. The Highlanders eventually battled back to pull even, 17-all, but UC San Diego went on a five-point run highlighted by three straight blocks to jump back in front, 22-17. The Tritons held on down the stretch and took the second set, 25-20, to even the match.
The third saw the teams remain close to start once again, battling to a 13-13 tie. Two kills by Hollis and one by McDaniel put UC San Diego in front 16-13, but UCR closed the gap back at 18-all and took the lead, 19-18. Three consecutive kills by McInnes and back-to-back blocks from McInnes/Saran and Saran/Brooker gave the Tritons the edge, 23-19. The third set closed with a McInnes kill, followed by a Hollis kill to put UC San Diego on top, 25-21, and lead the match, 2-1.
After the Tritons took an early, 5-2, lead to begin set four, UC Riverside responded with five-straight points to pull in front, 7-5. The teams locked up at 10-10 before a string of errors by UC San Diego gave UCR the lead, 15-10. The Tritons found their rhythm once again behind the tough serving of Baillie and a five-point run gave UC San Diego the edge, 17-16. However, Riverside outscored the Tritons, 9-2, down the stretch and took the set, 25-19, to force a deciding fifth frame.
It was all Tritons to start the final set, led by a dominating performance by McInnes. The senior outside hitter knocked down the first four kills in succession and then followed with back-to-back aces to give UC San Diego a 9-1 advantage. The teams traded points down the stretch but the Tritons cruised to a comfortable 15-8 victory to take the match, 3-2.
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain on the road for the opening weekend of Big West play, traveling to face UC Davis on Saturday at 1 p.m. The match will not be broadcast but 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 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 84 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.
