SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball fell to Cal Poly in four tightly contested sets, 20-25, 22-25, 27-25, 21-25, on Friday evening in Mott Athletics Center. With the loss, the Tritons (17-10, 9-6 Big West) moved to 0-6 in the all-time series with the Mustangs (16-10, 10-4 Big West).
 
Sabire Karacaova and Jasmine Saran both tallied 10 kills in the contest, while Emily McDaniel and Ava McInnes added nine kills apiece. Nevada Knowles recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 20 assists and 10 digs, while Lauren Brooker chipped in 14 assists and eight digs.
 
Defensively, McDaniel and Katie Rapp led the Tritons with five blocks each, while Natalie Repetti recorded 14 digs and led the team with two aces.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons fell behind early in set one, 4-9, before finding their rhythm midway through the opening frame. UC San put together a 5-1 scoring run to pull within one point at 11-12. The Mustangs stalled the momentum with three quick points to lead 15-11 at the media timeout. Cal Poly extended its lead to as many as five before the Tritons mounted a late comeback, pulling within one point again at 19-20. However, the Mustangs outscored UC San Diego 5-1 to close out the set, 25-20, and take a one-set lead in the match. 
 
Set two saw the teams trade points to an 8-8 tie early in the frame before the Tritons put together a 4-1 run to create distance. After a timeout by Cal Poly, the Mustangs scored three quick points to bring the set even once again, 12-all. The teams traded side outs to a 19-18 tie before Cal Poly put together another three-point run to make it 22-19. A service error by the Mustangs and an ace by Brooker pulled the Tritons within one but Cal Poly closed out the frame with back-to-back points to take the second set, 25-22.  
 
Cal Poly jumped out to a 7-2 lead to begin the third set, maintaining a four-point advantage midway through the set, 15-11. The teams traded two-point runs back-and-forth all the way to 21-19, before the Mustangs went on a three-point run to make it match point, 24-19. The Tritons fought off six match points with Repetti at the service line, outscoring Cal Poly 8-1 down the stretch to extend the match, 27-25. 
 
UC San Diego got off to a slow start in the fourth set, 4-7, before three errors by the Mustangs brough the teams even at 7-all. The Tritons mounted a five-point scoring run with Brooker at the service line to finally take the lead, 14-9. Cal Poly responded with a 10-2 scoring run of its own to pull in front again, 19-16. UC San Diego continued to battle to keep the deficit within two points, but Cal Poly closed out the set and the match with a kill and an ace to make it 25-21.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Nevada Knowles recorded her fifth double-double of the season.
• Jasmine Saran recorded double-figure kills for the fifth time this season and committed just one hitting error for the fourth straight match. 
  • She hit .429 in the contest and currently ranks fourth in the Big West in hitting percentage (.319).
• UC San Diego held the edge in blocks (10-9), while Cal Poly had the advantage in aces (8-5), digs (65-58), assists (56-42) and kills (63-47). The Tritons hit .185 as a team, compred to .268 for the Mustangs.
• With the loss, the Tritons moved to 0-6 in the all-time series with Cal Poly.

 UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain on the road to face Big West leader UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics on 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 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.