HONOLULU, Hawai'i—UC San Diego women's volleyball fell to Hawai'i, 17-25, 27-29, 21-25, on Friday evening in the Stan Sheriff Center. The Tritons finish their third season of Division I competition with a 17-13 overall record and 9-9 mark in Big West play. It is the first time the Tritons have finished with a .500 or better record in the D-I era.
Sabire Karacaova led the offense with 10 kills, while
Lauren Brooker and
Ava McInnes added eight kills apiece for the Tritons.
Natalie Repetti collected a match-high 19 digs and
Jasmine Saran led all blockers with four blocks (two solo). Brooker collected 13 assists and seven digs, while
Nevada Knowles led the team with 18 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Rainbow Wahine (20-8, 13-4 Big West) jumped out to an early 7-4 advantage and extended their lead with an 8-2 scoring run to lead 17-9. The Tritons went on a late 3-0 run down the stretch to cut the deficit to three but UH closed out the set with back-to-back kills to take the first set, 25-17.
The second set was a back-and-forth battle that saw 19 ties and six lead changes. After falling behind early, 7-3, the Tritons used a 6-1 scoring run to take the lead 9-8. Neither team strung together more than two points the rest of the way, with Hawai'i reaching the first set point, 24-23. UC San Diego got back-to-back kills from Karacaova and Saran for its first set point, 25-24, but UH pulled even once again. The 'Bows closed out the frame with a 4-1 run to take the second set, 29-27.
The third set was more of the same, with nine ties and two lead changes. The teams battled all the way to a 19-19 tie before UH strung together four straight points to create distance. The Tritons fought off one match point at 24-20 but Hawai'i closed out the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.
TRITON TIDBITS
- It was the final match of their UC San Diego careers for seniors Shara Da Silva and Natalie Repetti.
- UC San Diego held the advantage in blocks (7-4), while Hawai'i had the edge in aces (4-2), kills (52-40) and digs (56-42).
- The Tritons hit .215 as a team, compared to .313 for the Rainbow Wahine.
- With the loss, the Tritons moved to 0-7 in the all-time series with Hawai'i.
- UC San Diego's 17-13 record is the first time the Tritons have finished above .500 in their three seasons of Division I competition.
- With the four-year reclassifying period over, the Tritons will now be fully eligible for postseason competition in the 2024 season.
- All-Big West awards will be announced Tuesday, Nov. 21.
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.
