SAN LUIS OBISPO, California—In a hard-fought Big West Conference battle Friday night, the UC San Diego women's volleyball team came up just short, falling in five sets to Cal Poly.

Scores from Mott Athletics Center on the Central Coast went 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 19-25, and 15-12.

The loss dropped the Tritons to 7-13 overall and 4-5 in Big West action. The Mustangs improved to 9-11 on the season and 7-2 in the conference.

It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.   

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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego held advantages in hitting percentage (.202 to .182), kills (63 to 51), digs (68 to 67), and blocks (11 to 10). The Tritons struggled from the service line, connecting for five aces but committing a season-high 12 errors.

Individually, three Tritons finished with 10 or more kills including outside hitter Ava McInnes (match-high 19), opposite Trinity Castaneda (14), and outside Zaria Henderson (10). McInnes finished with 12 digs for her fifth double-double, Castaneda hit .367, and Henderson also had a double-double with 10 digs, her third of the season.

Setter Isabela Dobra joined tonight's double-double club as well as she totaled 50 assists and 10 digs. In addition, she had four blocks and three of her five attack attempts fell for kills.

Opposite Grace Cannon hit .429 with eight kills and two errors in 14 swings while also contributing five blocks (two solos) at the net. Middle Juliette Bokor finished with six blocks (two solos).

Libero Naya Dong led UC San Diego on the defensive end with 17 digs.

Cal Poly's Tommi Stockham matched McInnes' kill total with 19 of her own. Peyton Duck played a big part in the Mustangs' victory by putting down six service aces. Amy Hiatt had six blocks (one solo) and Meredith Phillips had five.

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WHAT HEAD COACH RICCI LUYTIES HAS TO SAY
"We came back from a beat down in the first set by continuing to play hard every point of the match.

I've been really impressed with our attitude and fight this entire season when things aren't going our way.

Cal Poly has a great program that's been winning for a long time, so the fact that we had chances to win says a lot for the direction we're heading.

Now, we just have to figure out how to earn a few more points to win these close matches."

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TRITON TIDBITS
• It was the fifth five-set match for UC San Diego this season.
• The 19 kills for McInnes were the second-most of her career as she totaled 24 in her second collegiate match on August 27 against Marist.
• McInnes has logged 10 or more kills in 12 of 20 matches, which includes her last four outings.
• McInnes has finished with a double-double in her last three matches.
• Zaria Henderson has registered a double-double in her last three matches.
• It was just the third time in 20 matches that the Tritons finished with 10 or more service errors.

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UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays at CSU Bakersfield Saturday at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners (11-6, 4-5) came back from a two-set deficit to defeat UC Irvine Friday night.
 
For coverage links and UC San Diego's complete 2021 schedule, click here.

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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 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.