STOCKTON, Calif. - The University of California San Diego women's volleyball team suffered two straight-set losses Friday, falling to California and the University of the Pacific at Pacific's Community Classic tournament.

With the losses, UC San Diego fell to 0-5 in its first season competing at the NCAA Division I level.

HOW IT HAPPENED PART 1
Scores from the Alex G. Spanos Center went 25-20, 25-12, and 25-14 in favor of Cal, which improved to 3-1 on the season. 

The Tritons struggled offensively against the Golden Bears, hitting just .092 with 29 kills and 21 errors in 87 attack attempts. Cal finished with a solid .367 attack percentage on 44 kills and 11 errors in 90 swings. The Bears hit over .400 in two sets, posting a .500 in the second and a .423 in the third.

Cal was also strong at the net, holding a 10-2 advantage in blocks.

Trailing 9-7 in the first set, UC San Diego went on a 6-0 run to go up 13-9. Emily Hubbard and Juliette Bokor each had a kill and Isabela Dobra tallied a service ace during the spree. However, the Bears scored the next five points and took a 14-13 advantage. The Tritons grabbed the next point to tie it, but Cal then went up 15-14 and led the rest of the way.

Back-to-back kills from Ava McInnes and Jovana Papaz gave UC San Diego an early 5-3 lead in the second frame. Cal answered with a five-point run to earn an 8-5 advantage and the Bears stayed in front for the remainder of the set.

Again, the Tritons owned a lead early in the third set, going up 3-2 following a kill by Zaria Henderson. At 4-4, Cal used a five-point run to move ahead 9-5. UC San Diego got back within three points at 15-12, but the Bears picked up five of the next six points and ran away with the set. 

Bokor and Emily McDaniel each had a team-high six kills for the Tritons. McInnes followed with five. Bokor hit .400 (6-2-10) and Henderson had four kills while hitting .333. Emily Hubbard and Susanna Limb each finished with seven digs.

Cal's Katie Smoot led all players with 13 kills. Five Golden Bears had multiple blocks, including Bella Bergmark with seven. Bergmark also hit .583 with seven kills and no errors in 12 attack attempts.

TRITON TIDBITS PART 1
• It was the second-ever meeting between UC San Diego and Cal.
• The Golden bears defeated the Tritons, 2-0, on Sept. 12, 1983 at the All-Cals Invitational at UC Riverside.
• Freshman outside hitter Sabire Karacaova made her collegiate debut, finishing with a kill and no errors in three attacks for the Tritons.

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HOW IT HAPPENED PART 2
Scores against Pacific went 25-20, 25-16, and 25-22. With the win, the Tigers moved to 2-3 overall.

The Tritons' offensive woes continued against Pacific as they finished below .100 for a second time, coming in at .075 with 29 kills and 21 errors in 106 attack attempts.

Pacific hit .196 with 39 kills and 17 miscues in 112 swings. The Tigers held advantages in two key categories - service aces (8-3) and blocks (10-5).

A five point run in the opening set gave Pacific a 16-9 lead. Behind 20-13, UC San Diego used a four-point run to get back within three. Bokor had a kill and a block in that span. At 23-20, the Tigers closed it out with back-to-back kills.

Pacific rolled to a 7-1 lead and controlled the second set all the way through.

Behind 11-7 in the third stanza, the Tritons crafted a six-point run to take a 13-11 lead. A Bokor service ace later had UC San Diego up 20-17, but Pacific knotted the score with three consecutive points. Karacaova floored a kill to put the Tritons up 21-20, however, that lead was short-lived. Pacific took five of the final six points to ice the win. 

Four Tritons finished with six kills apiece including Bokor, Henderson, McDaniel, and McInnes. Naya Dong had a team-high 16 digs.

Pacific's Alexa Edwards led all players with her 15 kills. Jadyn Tubbs did the same with her 18 digs. 

TRITON TIDBITS PART 2
• It was the first-ever meeting between UC San Diego and Pacific.

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QUOTABLE
"These last two weekends have been a tough stretch of matches for us. I hope they're not losing confidence from these losses because we have a good team that will gel with more time together. We have a lot of young players on the court at the same time. They're gaining some great experience and will continue to improve each game they get to play. We're going to learn from these matches and work to improve the parts of our game that have been exposed."

Head Coach Ricci Luyties

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UP NEXT
UC San Diego wraps up play in Stockton Saturday when it goes up against Tarleton State at 11 a.m.

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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.