LA JOLLA, Calif.—On the penultimate week of the 2023 season, UC San Diego women's volleyball will travel to take on Cal Poly and Big West leader UC Santa Barbara this weekend.
 
Winners of nine of their last 10 matches, the Tritons (17-9, 9-5 Big West) will look to extend a six-match streak on Friday against the Mustangs (16-10, 10-4 Big West) at 7 p.m. UC San Diego will then travel to take on the (receiving votes) Gauchos (23-3, 13-1 Big West) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
DETAILS
Match 27
UC San Diego (17-9, 9-5) vs Cal Poly (16-10, 10-4)
Friday, Nov. 10 | 7 p.m.
Mott Athletics Center (3,032) | San Luis Obispo, Calif.
All-time series: 0-5
Last meeting: UCSD 2, CP 3 (Sept. 23, 2023)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 28
UC San Diego vs (RV) UC Santa Barbara (23-3, 13-1)
Saturday, Nov. 11 | 7 p.m.
The Thunderdome (5,000) | Santa Barbara, Calif.
All-time series: 0-8 (0-5 in D-I)
Last meeting: UCSD 0, UCSB 3 (Sept. 22, 2023)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 

ABOUT THE TRITONS	ABOUT CAL POLY	ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
Roster | Schedule | Stats	Roster | Schedule | Stats	Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 17-9	Overall: 16-10	Overall: 23-3
Big West: 9-5	Big West: 10-4	Big West: 13-1
Home: 5-6	Home: 4-4	Home: 8-0
Away: 8-2	Away: 8-4	Away: 12-1
Neutral: 4-1	Neutral: 4-2	Neutral: 3-2
Vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0	vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0	vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-1
Streak: W6	Streak: W1	Streak: W3

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will wrap up its third season of Division I competition and last year of the NCAA reclassifying period next week. The Tritons will celebrate seniors Natalie Repetti and Shara Da Silva before taking on Long Beach State in their final home match, Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. 
 
UC San Diego will conclude the season on the road at Hawai'i on Friday, Nov. 17 at 10 p.m. PT. Both matches are scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons extended a four-match sweep streak, defeating Cal State Bakersfield, 3-0, and CSUN, 3-0, at home in LionTree Arena. Middle blocker Jasmine Saran earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week for her weekend performance.
 
UC San Diego 3, Cal State Bakersfield 0
Set scores: 25-14, 25-17, 25-17
Top performers: McInnes (13 kills); Brooker (11 kills, 14 assists, 6 digs, 3 blocks); Saran (9 kills, 3 aces, 3 blocks); McDaniel (8 kills, 2 blocks); Knowles (20 assists); Repetti (18 digs); Karacaova (10 digs, 2 aces)
Notables: With the win, the Tritons secured their best Big West record (8 wins) after collecting seven wins in both 2022 and 2021.
 
UC San Diego 3, CSUN 0
Set scores: 25-15, 25-23, 25-22
Top performers: Saran (10 blocks, 6 kills); McDaniel (8 blocks); McInnes (9 kills, 8 digs); Karacaova (7 kills, 2 aces); Brooker (12 assists, 5 blocks, 5 digs); Knowles (17 assists); Repetti (17 digs, 2 aces)
Notables: The Tritons set a Division I program record with 19.0 team blocks in the contest. Jasmine Saran collected a career high with her 10 blocks (1 solo).
 
AWARD WINNERS
Big West Defensive Player of the Week: Jasmine Saran (Nov. 6)
UCU Athlete of the Week: Ava McInnes (Oct. 30)
Big West Defensive Player of the Week: Jasmine Saran (Oct. 23)
Big West Freshman of the Week: Lauren Brooker (Oct. 23)
UCU Athlete of the Week: Jasmine Saran (Oct. 23)
UCU Athlete of the Week: Nevada Knowles (Oct. 9)
Big West Offensive Player of the Week: Ava McInnes (Sept. 18)
Big West Freshman of the Week: Lauren Brooker (Sept. 18)
UCU Athlete of the Week: Ava McInnes (Sept. 18)
TSU/Belmont Invitational MVP: Ava McInnes (Sept. 15)
TSU/Belmont Invitational All-Tournament Team: Lauren Brooker, Ava McInnes, Jasmine Saran (Sept. 15)
UC San Diego Invitational All-Tournament Team: Lauren Brooker (Sept. 9)
UCU Athlete of the Week: Emily McDaniel (Sept. 4)
Gonzaga Tournament All-Tournament Team: Emily McDaniel (Sept. 2)
Big West Defensive Player of the Week: Emily McDaniel (Aug. 28)
Big West Freshman of the Week: Lauren Brooker (Aug. 28)
Bulldog Brawl All-Tournament Team: Ava McInnes, Emily McDaniel (Aug. 26)
 
SARAN EARNS SECOND BIG WEST DEFENSIVE NOD
Jasmine Saran was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season and the Tritons have collected three defensive nods this season. Saran averaged 2.17 blocks per set in a 2-0 weekend for the Tritons, recording her 100th block of the season on Saturday against CSUN. The sophomore becomes just the second Triton in the Division I era to reach 100 blocks in a season.
 
The middle blocker tallied 13 blocks in six sets, including a career-best 10 blocks (1 solo) in a 3-0 sweep of CSUN in which the Tritons set a Division I program record with 19 team blocks. She finished second on the team with 25 points over the weekend (4.17 per set), adding three aces, 15 kills (2.50 per set) and hitting .448. Saran has not committed more than three hitting errors in each of her last 12 matches, including just one in each of the last three matches.
 
McINNES CHASING RECORDS
Junior outside hitter Ava McInnes had a standout season in 2022, leading The Big West in both kills (3.81 k/s) and points (4.35 p/s). McInnes set the Tritons' Division I season record for kills with 469, which also ranks second in the all-time record book. She also set the all-time season record for attacks with 1,374 and tied the all-time single match kills record with 31 against Long Beach State (Oct. 14, 2022).
 
In her third season of competition, McInnes has 1,155 career kills and 3,321 attack attempts. She recorded her career 1,000th career kill on Sept. 23 against Cal Poly and her 3,000th attack attempt on Oct. 6 at CSUN. McInnes currently ranks sixth all-time in career kills for UC San Diego and is 17 kills away from moving into fifth (1,172) and 27 away from moving into fourth (1,182). McInnes moved into third all-time in attack attempts on Saturday against CSUN and is 15 away from moving into second all-time (3,336).
 

ALL-TIME KILLS			ALL-TIME ATTACK ATTEMPTS
1.	1,524	Danielle Dahle (2012-15)	1.	4,636	Danielle Dahle (2012-15)
2.	1,364	Rebecca Bailey (2005-08)	2.	3,336	Rebecca Bailey (2005-08)
3.	1,212	Sylvia Schmidt (2006-09)	3.	3,321	Ava McInnes (2021-Present)
4.	1,182	Stacy Dunsmore (2001-04)	4.	3,314	Stacy Dunsmore (2001-04)
5.	1,172	Diana Klintworth (1986-89)	5.	3,204	Katie Condon (2008-11)
6.	1,155	Ava McInnes (2021-Present)	6.	3,026	Diana Klintworth (1986-89)
7.	1,116	Bonnie Wilson (2002-04)	7.	2,952	Sylvia Schmidt (2006-09)
8.	1,049	Kristin Kilbourn (1981-84)	8.	2,887	Hillary Williamson (2008-11)
9.	1,025	Hillary Williamson (2008-11)
10.	1,014	Molly Wheatley (1981-84)

 
STACKING UP AGAINST THE BIG WEST
After ten weeks of competition in the books, UC San Diego is currently in fifth place in the Big West (9-5). The Tritons rank second in team blocks (2.46 per set) and in service aces (1.74).
 

• Ava McInnes ranks first in kills (3.81 per set), second in points (4.57 per set), sixth in aces (0.36 per set) and 13th in hitting percentage (.265).
• Emily McDaniel ranks second in blocks (1.36 per set), 11th in hitting percentage (.283) and 15th in points (3.03).
• Nevada Knowles ranks eighth in assists (6.55 per set).
• Jasmine Saran ranks fifth in hitting percentage (.302) and 10th in blocks (1.00 per set).
• Natalie Repetti ranks seventh in digs (3.49 per set) and 11th in aces (0.32 per set).

CHALLENGING SCHEDULE
UC San Diego will have a challenging slate to end the season, facing the top four teams ahead of them in the conference standing in (RV) UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, Hawai'i and Cal Poly. All five schools have a winning percentage of .600 or better, with Long Beach State and the Tritons riding eight and six-match winning streaks respectively.
 
BIG WEST RANKINGS

School	Big West	BW Pct.	Overall	Overall Pct.	Streak
UC Santa Barbara	13-1	.929	23-3	.885	W3
Long Beach State	12-2	.857	18-6	.750	W8
Hawai'i	10-4	.714	17-8	.680	L2
Cal Poly	10-4	.714	16-10	.615	W1
UC San Diego	9-5	.643	17-9	.654	W6

 
EXPERIENCED ROSTER
UC San Diego returns 12 Tritons who saw playing time during the 2022 season, including All-Big West Second Team honoree Ava McInnes. The senior class consists of Shara Da Silva who started 30 matches at middle blocker in 2022 and Natalie Repetti who appeared in 29 matches as a defensive substitution. The junior class includes outside hitters Ava McInnes and Zaria Henderson who both started all 32 matches for the Tritons. They are joined by Juliette Bokor, Sabire Karacaova, Nevada Knowles (transfer), Emily McDaniel and Izabella Santa Cruz. The sophomore class consists of Dana Branavets (transfer), Reagan Dryden, Katie Rapp, Aubrey Tanner, Kayla Uhlick and Jasmine Saran.
 
FRESH FACES
The Tritons added five talented newcomers to the 2023 roster, including three freshmen, a sophomore transfer and junior college transfer. The Tritons will welcome first-year scholar-athletes Lauren Brooker (Calabasas, Calif.), Iris Canko (Temecula, Calif.) and Reagan McWhinney (Loveland, Colo.), as well as sophomore transfer Dana Branavets (San Diego, Calif.) from Boise State and junior transfer Nevada Knowles (Ventura, Calif.) from Ventura College.
 
TRITONS PICKED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON POLL
UC San Diego was picked to finish seventh with 42 points in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. 2022 Big West Champion Hawai'i was picked to finish first with 100 points and 10 first-place votes, followed by UC Santa Barbara (83 points) and Long Beach State (82 points, 1 first-place vote) rounding out the top three.
 
Cal Poly (81) was picked fourth and UC Davis (61) was voted fifth, followed by UC Irvine (54), UC San Diego (42), Cal State Bakersfield (33), Cal State Fullerton (32), CSUN (27) and UC Riverside (10).
 
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Juliette Bokor, Emily McDaniel, Ava McInnes and Natalie Repetti were four of the seven women's volleyball scholar-athletes named to the Big West All-Academic team for the 2022 fall season. Additionally, McDaniel was named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
 
WELCOME TO LIONTREE ARENA
Since it was established nearly three decades ago, the University of California San Diego's RIMAC (Recreation, Intramural and Athletic Complex) Arena has been home to countless athletic competitions, graduations, concerts and other events that are imprinted on the memories of thousands of UC San Diego alumni, students, friends and visitors.
 
In June of 2022, UC San Diego announced that RIMAC Arena has been named LionTree Arena in recognition of a $5 million gift for scholar-athletes from LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank with expertise in technology, media and the digital economy. LionTree was founded by UC San Diego alumnus Aryeh B. Bourkoff, who also serves as the firm's CEO. LionTree's gift is the largest ever received by UC San Diego Athletics, establishing the LionTree Endowed Scholarship Fund to support scholar-athletes.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has begun a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, men's and women's volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego women's volleyball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
GAME DAY GOES DIGITAL
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit UCSDTritons.com from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to LionTree Arena for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch on ESPN+.
 
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at LionTree Arena must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours prior to the game. 
 
Following the conclusion of each home game, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through Twitter and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdwvb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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.