LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball will begin its 2025 campaign this weekend, hosting the UC San Diego Invitational in LionTree Arena.
 
The Tritons will play host to Eastern Washington on Friday at 6 p.m. to open the season. UC San Diego will return to face New Mexico State on Saturday at 3 p.m. and wrap up the weekend on Sunday against Northwestern at 12 p.m. The Tritons will also host three neutral matches between the participating teams throughout the weekend.
 
All three of UC San Diego's matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available for all matches via UCSDTritons.com.
 
DETAILS
Match 1
UC San Diego vs Eastern Washington
Friday, Aug. 29 | 6 p.m.
LionTree Arena (4,000) | La Jolla, Calif.
All-time series: First meeting
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 2
UC San Diego vs New Mexico State
Saturday, Aug. 30 | 3 p.m.
LionTree Arena (4,000) | La Jolla, Calif.
All-time series: 0-1
Last meeting: UCSD 2, NMSU 3 (Aug. 27, 2021)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 3
UC San Diego vs Northwestern
Sunday, Aug. 31 | 12 p.m.
LionTree Arena (4,000) | La Jolla, Calif.
All-time series: First meeting
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | 2024 Stats
2024 Overall: 17-13
2024 Big West: 11-7
2024 Home: 8-4
2024 Away: 7-6
2024 Neutral: 2-3
2024 vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: L1
 

ABOUT E. WASHINGTON	ABOUT NEW MEXICO ST.	ABOUT NORTHWESTERN
Roster | Schedule | 2024 Stats	Roster | Schedule | 2024 Stats	Roster | Schedule | 2024 Stats
2024 Overall: 12-15	2024 Overall: 19-14	2024 Overall: 5-23
2024 Big Sky: 8-8	2024 CUSA: 11-7	2024 Big 10: 3-17
2024 Home: 5-4	2024 Home: 12-2	2024 Home: 2-10
2024 Away: 4-8	2024 Away: 5-10	2024 Away: 3-12
2024 Neutral: 3-3	2024 Neutral: 2-2	2024 Neutral: 0-1
2024 vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0	2024 vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-1	2024 vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-8
Streak: L3	Streak: L1	Streak: L6

 
TRITON RETURNERS
Last season the Tritons finished 17-13 overall and 11-7 in Big West play to earn their first trip to the Big West Championship. UC San Diego returns three starters from a season ago including senior Jasmine Saran (middle blocker) and sophomores Paulina Baillie (libero) and Molly McCluskey (opposite). The senior class includes Katie Rapp, Jasmine Saran and Kayla Uhlick.
 
FRESH FACES
UC San Diego women's volleyball will add nine newcomers to its roster for the 2025 season. The Tritons will welcome five first-year scholar-athletes, including Maria Fernanda Afonso (Curitiba, Brazil), Stefania Alupei (Bucharest, Romania), Alba Canko (Temecula, Calif.), Maija Nepszy (Windsor, Ontario) and Mina Olgar (Istanbul, Turkey).
 
Transfers Marleena Catalan (San Diego, Calif.), Ireland McNees (Riverton, Utah),  Zahara Quraishi (West Hartford, Conn.) and Mika Rome (Ra'anana, Israel) join UC San Diego after competing for Portland, Oklahoma, Chicago State and LSU, respectively.
 
TRITONS PICKED TO FINISH SEVENTH
UC San Diego women's volleyball was picked to finish seventh in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll, as decided by the conference's 11 head coaches. Hawai'i was picked to finish first with 94 points and five of the first-place votes, while Cal Poly ranked just behind with 92 points and five first-place votes as well. 
 
UC Davis was picked to finish third with 75 points and UC Santa Barbara received the remaining first place vote with 73 points in fourth place. Long Beach State (68 points) was picked fifth, followed by UC Irvine (53), UC San Diego (50), CSUN (42), Cal State Bakersfield (23), Cal State Fullerton (21) and UC Riverside (14).
 
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Iris Canko, Jasmine Saran and Kayla Uhlick were three of the six women's volleyball scholar-athletes named to the Big West All-Academic team for the 2024 fall season. Saran was also named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team for the second straight year. UC San Diego women's volleyball had 14 scholar-athletes named to the Big West Commissioner's Honor Roll, including nine Tritons receiving Highest Honors with a 3.51-4.00 grade point average.
 
GREENE ENTERS SECOND SEASON AT THE HELM
On March 20, 2024, UC San Diego Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards named Melanie Greene the new women's volleyball head coach. Greene became the seventh head coach in UC San Diego women's volleyball history. A native of San Diego, Greene brings a wealth of Division I experience, most recently as associate head coach at San Diego State. She was involved in the Aztecs' program—both as a coach and as a scholar-athlete—since 2004. 
 
A three-year letterwinner for the Aztecs, Greene came to San Diego State in 2004 after two years at Washington State where she redshirted during her freshman year. A three-year starter as an outside hitter, she averaged 3.46 kills and 2.73 digs per set while leading the team in kills and finishing among the top three in digs each season.
 
Born in San Diego while her father, Ken Greene, was a member of the San Diego Chargers, Greene later moved to Nampa, Idaho, where she attended Nampa Christian High School. As a prep athlete she won a total of 12 varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and track and field, earning all-state honors in all three sports. Greene graduated from San Diego State in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in recreation administration. She completed her master's degree in leadership and organizational studies at Azusa Pacific in 2010.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has completed its four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. All sports are now eligible for both conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, men's and women's volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego women's volleyball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
GAME DAY GOES DIGITAL
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit UCSDTritons.com from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to LionTree Arena for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch on ESPN+.
 
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at LionTree Arena must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours prior to the game. Following the conclusion of each home game, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdwvb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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.