NORTHRIDGE, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball earned its third Big West sweep of the season and second in as many matches, defeating CSUN, 3-0, on Friday evening in Premier America Credit Union Arena.
With the victory, head coach
Ricci Luyties recorded his 200th career win at UC San Diego. The Tritons (11-12, 4-7 Big West) defeated the Matadors (7-16, 2-9 Big West) in straight sets, 25-12, 25-15, 25-22, to sweep the season series, 2-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons held the advantage in aces (8-2), kills (43-28), assists (40-27) and digs (39-29), and also recorded a .315 hitting percentage compared to .140 for CSUN. The Matadors outblocked UC San Diego, 6-4.
Ava McInnes led the way offensively for the Tritons with 16 kills, while
Zaria Henderson added eight and
Shara Da Silva tallied seven and added six digs. Henderson also added two aces and
Naya Dong added two as well as a match-high 13 digs.
Izzi Strand finished the night with 34 assists and
Natalie Repetti added seven digs.
The Matadors held the early advantage, 5-4, in the opening set before UC San Diego rattled off an 8-1 run to build a healthy, 12-6, lead. The Tritons added another five-point run to make it 17-8 and closed out the set with seven consecutive points to win, 25-12.
The teams battled to an 8-8 tie to open set two, before UC San Diego put together an impressive 10-1 run to pull ahead. The teams traded two-point runs down the stretch and the Tritons took the second set easily, 25-15, to lead the match, 2-0. UC San Diego hit at an impressive .448 clip in the second set, their best hitting percentage of the night.
It was a bit of a different story in the final set, with the Matadors keeping it close all the way to a 17-17 tie. The Tritons then put together a 6-1 run to take the lead. CSUN fought off two match points, but UC San Diego eventually took the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-0.
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of the team for getting a sweep on the road in the Big West," said Luyties. "That's a big accomplishment in a tough conference. It's great to see them play with confidence and working together."
TRITON TIDBITS
- It was the third Big West sweep for the Tritons and fifth sweep of the season.
- Coach Ricci Luyties recorded his 200th career victory with the Tritons and now holds a 200-133 record at UC San Diego and a 285-229 all-time record.
- UC San Diego's .315 hitting percentage is its third highest of the season and first time hitting over .300 since Sept. 3 against Southern U.
- It is also the Tritons' highest hitting percentage against a Big West opponent since joining the conference.
- Naya Dong has notched double-figure digs in all 23 of UC San Diego's matches this season.
- Ava McInnes recorded double-figure kills for the 21st time this season.
- With the win, UC San Diego improved to 4-10 in the all-time series with CSUN and 2-0 this season.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain on the road to face UC Santa Barbara on Sunday at 4 p.m. PT. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
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 83 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.
