LA JOLLA, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball wrapped up its home schedule with a 3-0 loss to Hawai'i on Friday evening in LionTree Arena.
The Tritons (12-16, 5-11 Big West) celebrated their three graduating seniors
Grace Cannon,
Naya Dong and
Dani Mason prior to the match, but UC San Diego fell to the Rainbow Wahine (17-6, 14-1 Big West) in straight sets, 25-14, 25-19, 25-15.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego hit .127 as a team, compared to .363 for the Rainbow Wahine. Hawai'i held the advantage in blocks (7-2), aces (5-2) and digs (50-38).
Ava McInnes led the Tritons with 10 kills, while
Zaria Henderson added six and
Dani Mason chipped in four.
Izzi Strand tallied 24 assists and added six digs.
Naya Dong led the defense with 13 digs, while
Natalie Repetti added nine digs and two aces.
The teams kept the opening set tight to a 8-8 tie, but UH then went on a 12-2 scoring run to pull in front and never looked back. The 'Bows took the first set in dominant fashion, 25-14, hitting .500 as a team with 19 kills on 32 swings with just three errors.
Hawai'i carried the momentum into the second set, building a 10-4 lead early. The Tritons answered with a 5-1 run to pull within two, 11-9. UH answered with another run, 9-2, to build its largest lead of the set, 20-11. UC San Diego battled back but the deficit proved to be too great and UH took the second set, 25-19.
It was all Hawai'i to begin the third set, jumping out to a 12-3 lead. The Tritons continued to battle but the Rainbow Wahine would not be denied, taking the third set 25-15 and the match, 3-0.
TRITON TIDBITS
- Ava McInnes tallied double-figure kills for the 24th time this season.
- Naya Dong recorded her 27th match with double-figure digs.
- Dani Mason tallied a season-best four kills on her senior night.
- With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 0-5 in the all-time series with Hawai'i and 0-2 in the season series.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will head on the road again to face Long Beach State on Friday and take on Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled 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.
