SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball concluded its second season of Division I competition on Saturday evening with a 3-1 loss to Cal Poly in Mott Athletics Center. 
 
The Tritons (14-18, 7-13 Big West) fell to the Mustangs (17-13, 14-6 Big West) for the second time this season, this time with set scores of 20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 21-25.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego held the advantage in aces (7-6) and tied Cal Poly in digs (48-48). The Tritons hit .189 as a team, compared to .283 for the Mustangs. Cal Poly had the edge in blocks (10-8), kills (54-49), and assists (51-46).
 
For the second match in a row, Zaria Henderson led the Tritons offensively with a team-best 16 kills and added two aces. Ava McInnes finished with 14 kills and 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season, adding two aces on the night. Shara Da Silva led the defense with five blocks, while Aubrey Tanner added four and Dani Mason chipped in two. Izzi Strand tallied 42 assists and eight digs, while Natalie Repetti led the Tritons in the back court with 14 digs. 
 
The teams stayed locked in a tight battle to open the first set, with the Mustangs holding the slight edge early, 11-10. UC San Diego put together a four-point run to take the first lead of more than two points, 14-11. Cal Poly answered a few points later with a 9-2 run to flip the momentum, 21-17. The Mustangs closed out the set with a 5-1 run to take the opening frame, 25-20.
 
The duo of Henderson and McInnes caught fire offensively in the second set, combining for 13 of the Tritons' 15 kills in the set. It was another tightly contested set with the teams trading the lead back-and-forth all the way to a 21-21 tie. However, UC San Diego outscored the Mustangs 5-1 to close out the set, 25-22, and even the match, 1-1.
 
The Tritons jumped out to an early 5-2 lead in set three, before Cal Poly answered with six-point run to take the lead. The teams then traded three-point runs to an 11-11 tie. The Mustangs then began to create distance late with a 5-1 run and took the third set, 25-20, to retake the lead in the match, 2-1.
 
The final set was another tightly contested set all the way to a 13-13 tie midway through the frame. The Mustangs then put together a 7-2 run to create some distance, 21-16. The Tritons closed the gap to three points but were unable to complete the comeback, falling 25-21.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Ava McInnes tallied double-figure kills for the 28th time this season. Her 3.81 kills per set average and 469 total kills were both top in The Big West to end the regular season.
  • McInnes also recorded her sixth double-double of the season.
• Zaria Henderson tallied 20th match with double-figure kills.
• With the loss, UC San Diego fell to 0-4 in the all-time series with Cal Poly and 0-2 this season.

 
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.