TUCSON, Ariz. - Playing its first-ever competition as an NCAA Division I team Friday, the University of California San Diego fell in five sets to both New Mexico State and Marist at the Cactus Classic women's volleyball tournament, hosted by the University of Arizona.

HOW IT HAPPENED PART 1
New Mexico State came back from a two-set deficit to take the victory as scores from the McKale Center went 22-25, 16-25, 25-19, 25-20, and 15-10. It was the season opener for both teams.

UC San Diego came out strong, hitting .286 in the opening frame. A kill by senior outside hitter Trinity Castaneda gave the Tritons their first-ever Division I set win.

The Tritons' attack percentage fell to .147 in the second set, but the Aggies hit in the negative (-.054) with seven kills and nine errors in 37 swings.

Unfortunately, UC San Diego's attack numbers continued to slide. The Tritons were at .091 in the third, -.023 in the fourth, and .050 in the fifth. Conversely, New Mexico State put up a .367 in the third, a .189 in the fourth, and a .350 in the fifth and deciding set.

The Tritons finished at .116 (55-35-173) while the Aggies compiled a .196 (58-26-163) for the match.

Three Tritons amassed at least 10 kills including Castaneda (16), middle blocker Cindy Tran (12), and sophomore middle Ava McInnes (10). Tran hit a team-best .308 (12-4-26).

Sophomore setter Izzi Strand had 40 assists, senior libero/defensive specialist Susanna Limb matched a career-high with four service aces, and junior libero Naya Dong had a team-best 20 digs. Freshman middle blocker Emily McDaniel had a solid debut at the net, finishing with six blocks (one solo).

TRITON TIDBITS PART 1
• The 2020 season, which was supposed to be the Tritons' first at the Division I level, was canceled by the Big West Conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Today's contest against Marist was the first time UC San Diego had played an official match since December of 2019.
• It was the third all-time meeting between UC San Diego and New Mexico State. The Aggies have won all three.
• It was the first match for Cindy Tran since 2018. Now a graduate student at UC San Diego, Tran missed her 2019 senior campaign due to injury as well as the 2000 season, which was canceled due to the pandemic.
• Trinity Castaneda's 16 kills were one short of her career-high.
• New Mexico State went 16-2 overall and 13-1 in the Western Athletic Conference in 2000.
• Nine players made their Triton debuts including Juliette Bokor, Dong, Zaria Henderson, McDaniel, McInnes, Jovana Papaz, Natalie Repetti, Odeya Russo, and Strand.

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HOW IT HAPPENED PART 2
UC San Diego won sets two and four, while Marist, located in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., won sets one, three, and five. Scores were 25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 18-25, and 15-13.

With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 0-2. Marist improved to 1-1.

The Tritons out-hit the Red Foxes .166 to .150 and also held advantages in kills (62-51) and digs (101-94). Marist led in aces (10-6) and blocks (13-10).

McInnes led all players with 24 kills. She completed her first career double-double by adding 24 digs as well. Susanna Limb also posted a double-double with 42 assists and 22 digs.  Castaneda finished with 15 kills and McDaniel had 12. Bokor was a force at the net as she had six blocks.

The Tritons did not go down without a fight. Trailing 14-8 and facing match point in the fifth set, they ran off five straight points to get back within a single point at 14-13. Bokor had a pair of kills and a block during the run.

TRITON TIDBITS PART 2
• It was the first-ever match between UC San Diego and Marist.
• McInnes' 24 kills were the most by a Triton since Danielle Dahle had 25 against Western Washington on Dec. 5, 2015.
• McInnes' 24 digs were the most by a Triton since Alyson Penrose had 31 against Regis on Sept. 6, 2019.
• Dani Mason, who redshirted in 2019, made her Triton debut against Marist.

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QUOTABLES
We did some good things overall, but it was frustrating because we didn't take advantage of opportunities to score off of our defensive plays.

We competed hard in both matches but didn't have much fluidity to our offense in either.

I'm sure the players were a little nervous playing our first real match in a long time. It's normal for young players to have the jitters and I think with all of our freshmen on the court, it was a factor. However, I'm glad they're getting this experience and it should pay off in our future matches.

Ricci Luyties, UC San Diego Head Coach

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UP NEXT
To wrap up play at the Cactus Classic, UC San Diego takes on host Arizona on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The match will be covered by live video and live stats.

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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.