INDIANAPOLIS—UC San Diego women's volleyball opened the 2023 season with a 3-1 victory over Fresno State at the Bulldog Brawl hosted by Butler. The Tritons (1-0) topped the Bulldogs (0-1) in the first ever meeting by scores of 25-9, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23.
 
Ava McInnes led the way offensively with 18 kills (.368), adding four blocks and two aces to record a team-high 22.0 points. Freshman Lauren Brooker finished just shy of a triple-double with 11 assists, 10 digs and seven kills in her collegiate debut, tallying 10.5 points.
 
Defensively, Emily McDaniel led the way at the net with 10 blocks and libero Natalie Repetti took care of the back court with 18 digs, while Zaria Henderson added 11 digs for the Tritons.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons dominated the opening set, jumping out to an early 6-1 lead and building a 13-4 advantage midway through the first frame. UC San Diego put together a seven-point run with Repetti at the service line to make it 22-7 and McDaniel and McInnes secured back-to-back kills to close out the first set 25-9. Tritons hit a blistering .588 as a team with one hitting error and held the Bulldogs to a -.048 hitting percentage.
 
Early in the second set the Tritons went on a five-point scoring run behind two McInnes aces to lead 7-3. UC San Diego led by as many as eight before the Bulldogs rallied back with a 5-0 run of their own to make it 18-15. FSU closed the gap further with a late five-point run to pull even 23-all. The Tritons secured back-to-back points again to close out the set 25-23 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
In the third set, it was Fresno State that took the early lead, 10-6, over the Tritons. The Bulldogs built their advantage to as many as six before a 4-0 run by UC San Diego brought the set back within reach, 17-15. FSU answered with a four-point run of its own and eventually took the third set 25-18 to extend the match.
 
The Tritons got back on track to open the final frame with a 5-0 lead to start the set. UC San Diego efficiently worked its way to a 20-12 advantage and looked to have the match in hand before FSU made a late surge. The Bulldogs used a 10-3 scoring run to pull within one, 23-22, but the Tritons were able to hold off the comeback in a 25-23 victory to take the match.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego finished with a .237 hitting percentage compared to .098 for Fresno State.
• Freshman Lauren Brooker finished three kills shy of a triple-double in her collegiate debut, recording 11 assists, 10 digs and seven kills. 
• The Tritons outblocked FSU, 15-6 and their 15.0 team blocks are the most since Sept. 9, 2022 vs New Mexico (15.5).
• With the win, the Tritons move to 1-0 in the all-time series with Fresno State.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain in Indianapolis for day two of the Bulldog Brawl, a double-header on Saturday. UC San Diego will face Kent State in the morning match at 7 a.m. PT and take on the host Butler in the afternoon at 1 p.m. PT. The Tritons' match against Butler will be streamed on the Butler Athletics YouTube channel and live statistics will be available for both matches 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 has begun a new era 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 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered 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 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.