SANTA BARBARA, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball dropped a tough 3-0 match on the road at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday afternoon at the Thunderdome.
 
The Tritons (11-13, 4-8 Big West) fell to UC Santa Barbara (14-8, 10-2 Big West) in straight sets, 25-16, 25-18, 25-23. It was the third time UC San Diego has been swept this season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego held the advantage in digs, 41-39, but the Gauchos had the edge in all other statistical categories including blocks (13-4) and aces (4-2). The Tritons hit .156 as a team, compared to .320 for UCSB.
 
Ava McInnes led the way with a match-high 13 kills, while Shara Da Silva added six kills and Zaria Henderson chipped in five. Defensively, Da Silva also led the team with two blocks and Henderson added eight digs, while Naya Dong led the team with 11 digs. Izzi Strand finished the day with 28 assists for the Tritions.
 
The Tritons got off to a hot start in the opening set, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. However, the Gauchos flipped the script with a 10-2 run midway through the set to lead 17-12 and never looked back. UC San Diego was held to a .030 hitting percentage—its lowest of the match—and UCSB cruised to a 25-16 first-set victory.
 
In the second set, the teams traded the lead to a 7-7 tie before UC Santa Barbara put together a four-point run to create space. The Tritons continued to battle, but were unable to close the gap. With UC San Diego trailing 22-18, the Gauchos scored the final three points to take the second set, 25-18.
 
It looked to be more of the same when UCSB jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in set three. The Tritons rattled off four straight points to pull within one at 6-7 and eventually pulled even at 9-9. UCSB answered with a five-point run of its own, but the Tritons continued to hang around, eventually tying the set late at 23-all. However, the Gauchos scored the final two points to close the set, 25-23, and secure the sweep.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Naya Dong has notched double-figure digs in all 24 of UC San Diego's matches this season.
• Ava McInnes recorded double-figure kills for the 22nd time this season.
• With the loss, UC San Diego falls to 0-7 in the all-time series with UCSB and 0-2 in the season series.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will return home for its final homestand of the season, playing four consecutive matches in LionTree Arena. The Tritons will play host to UC Davis on Friday and UC Riverside on Saturday, with both contests set for 7 p.m. PT. The matches 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.