ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The University of California San Diego women's volleyball team earned its first-ever NCAA Division I victory Friday as it defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 3-1, at the University of New Mexico Classic tournament.
It was the second match of the day for the Tritons, who fell in straight sets to Seattle in the morning.
UC San Diego is now 1-7 after the two contests.
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HOW IT HAPPENED PART 1
Scores of the historic match at The Pit went 20-25, 25-23, 25-13, and 25-20.
After a sluggish first set in which UC San Diego hit just .056, the Tritons stepped their offensive output up and improved their attack percentage in each set. They hit .128 in the second frame, .205 in the third, and .219 in the fourth to finish at .149 (57-34-154).
The Lions were strong at the net, finishing with 21 blocks to keep the Triton attack under .150.
UC San Diego also performed well at the net, finishing with 12 blocks and holding the Lions to an .052 (33-26-134) attack. UC San Diego's defense was on point with 70 digs to Southeastern's 49.
Three Tritons logged a double-digit kill total including
Ava McInnes (match-high 15),
Emily McDaniel (13), and
Sabire Karacaova (11).
Naya Dong and
Susanna Limb were key on the defensive end, finishing with 24 and 18 digs, respectively. Limb also had three aces. Four Tritons had at least five blocks including
Juliette Bokor (6),
Grace Cannon (5), McDaniel (5), and McInnes (5).
The Lions got 15 kills from Cicily Hidalgo. Crispin Adams totaled nine blocks and Hannah Brewer had seven.
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TRITON TIDBITS PART 1
• It was the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
• UC San Diego's 12 blocks were a season-high for the team.
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QUOTABLE FROM HEAD COACH RICCI LUYTIES
"After a brutal losing streak, winning a match felt incredible. The team was all smiles and I'm sure relieved to get that first win.
The first set was full of errors on our side, so coming back from that is really encouraging for us moving forward. It was good to see the players gelling because that hasn't been the case of late."
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HOW IT HAPPENED PART 2
Scores from Friday's early match went 25-21, 25-19, and 25-18 in favor of Seattle, which improved to 2-6 on the year.
A less than stellar offense caused problems for the Tritons once again as they hit just .081 with 33 kills and 25 errors in 99 attack attempts. They swung at .000 in sets one and three. It was the third time in seven matches that the team finished under .100.
UC San Diego held an 8-6 advantage in blocks and a 38-36 lead in digs.
Ava McInnes led the Tritons with nine kills. Making her collegiate debut,
Grace Cannon put away eight kills.
Juliette Bokor provided a bright spot in offensive efficiency, hitting .667 with four kills and no errors in six attacks. Setter
Isabela Dobra amassed 29 assists and match-high 12 digs, while Cannon and Bokor each had five blocks at the net.
The Redhawks hit .188 (36-18-96) and out-aced the Tritons 6-2. Sierra Bartley finished with a match-high 10 kills. Amaris Carter had 11 digs and Kylie Water had four aces from the service line.
In the opening set, Seattle came out hot and got out to a 6-0 lead. Later trailing 15-6, UC San Diego ran off six consecutive points to get within three. Cannon and McInnes backed the run as each had a kill and a block. The Tritons closed the gap to two points at 18-16 following a hitting error by the Redhawks. However, Seattle scored the next four points and UC San Diego could get no closer than three the rest of the way.
The second set saw the Redhawks never trail. A five-point run midway through had Seattle up big, 18-9. The Tritons rallied back within three points, the final time when a Cannon kill made it 22-19. The Redhawks then took the next three points to win the frame and go up 2-0 in the match.
Seattle did not fall behind in the third set either. UC San Diego did mount a couple of solid runs again. Trailing by 10 at 19-9, they took four of the next five points to make it 20-13. At 23-14, UC San Diego repeated the drill and won four of five points and reduced its deficit to six. A kill by Amaris completed the sweep for the Redhawks.
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TRITON TIDBITS PART 2
• It was the first-ever loss for UC San Diego against Seattle as the Tritons came in with a 2-0 record vs. the Redhawks.
• Setter
Isabela Dobra recorded her second-consecutive double-double, giving the senior nine for her career.
• UC San Diego's eight blocks were the third-most for the team this season.
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UP NEXT
UC San Diego closes out action at the UNM Classic Saturday as it goes up against host New Mexico at noon PT. 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.
