LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball will play its first conference road contest of the season, traveling to face Long Beach State before returning home to host 2022 Big West champion Hawai'i.
 
The Tritons (8-6, 0-2 Big West) will take on the Beach (7-5, 1-1 Big West) on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Walter Pyramid. UC San Diego will return to La Jolla on Saturday to take on the Rainbow Wahine (9-4, 2-0 Big West) at 7 p.m. Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com.
 
Saturday's match against UH will be the Welcome Back Block Party for the Tritons, with celebrations beginning at 6 p.m. on the University Credit Union Patio outside LionTree Arena. The first 750 students will receive a free Block Party t-shirt. 
 
DETAILS
Match 15
UC San Diego (8-6, 0-2) at Long Beach State (7-5, 1-1)
Thursday, Sept. 28 | 7 p.m.
Walter Pyramid (4,000) | Long Beach, Calif.
All-time series: 0-4
Last meeting: UCSD 0, LBSU 3 (Nov. 18, 2022)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 16
UC San Diego vs Hawai'i (9-4, 2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 30 | 7 p.m.
LionTree Arena (4,000) | La Jolla, Calif.
All-time series: 0-5
Last meeting: UCSD 0, UH 3 (Nov. 11, 2022)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE TRITONS
Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 8-6
Big West: 0-2
Home: 1-4
Away: 3-1
Neutral: 4-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: L2
 

ABOUT LONG BEACH STATE	ABOUT HAWAI'I
Roster | Schedule | Stats	Roster | Schedule | Stats
Overall: 7-5	Overall: 9-4
Big West: 1-1	Big West: 2-0
Home: 3-4	Home: 7-3
Away: 2-1	Away: 0-1
Neutral: 2-0	Neutral: 2-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-2	vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-1
Streak: L1	Streak: W4

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will hit the road for a pair of matches next week, facing CSUN on Friday, Oct. 6 (6 p.m.) and taking on Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Oct. 7 (4 p.m.). Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available via UCSDTritons.com. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons went 0-2 on the opening weekend of Big West competition, falling to UC Santa Barbara, 3-0, and dropping a tough five-setter to Cal Poly in LionTree Arena. 
 
UC San Diego 0, UC Santa Barbara 3
Set scores: 20-25, 15-20, 23-25
Top performers: McInnes (9 kills, 8 digs, 2 blocks); Henderson (7 kills); Saran (6 kills, 3 blocks); Knowles (22 assists, 7 digs); Repetti (20 digs)
Notables: UCSB held the advantage in aces (6-1), blocks (9-6), digs (58-55) and hitting percentage (.190 to .145).
 
UC San Diego 2, Cal Poly 3
Set scores: 25-18, 25-23, 17-25, 19-25, 13-15
Top performers: McInnes (17 kills, 2 aces); Henderson (14 kills, 11 digs, 2 aces); Saran (8 kills, 8 blocks); Da Silva (6 blocks); Knowles (32 assists, 11 digs); Brooker (9 assists, 5 blocks); Repetti (15 digs, 4 aces)
Notables: Ava McInnes recorded her 1,000th career kill during the contest, moving into 10th all-time in the UC San Diego record books and seventh all-time in attack attempts.
 
McINNES, BROOKER EARN BIG WEST WEEKLY HONORS (SEPT. 18)
Ava McInnes was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week and Lauren Brooker was named Big West Freshman of the Week for their performances to help the Tritons go 3-0 at the TSU/Belmont Invitational in Nashville. 
 
McInnes led the Tritons offensively in all three matches, collecting 59 kills (4.92 per set) and totaling 67.5 points (5.63 per set). She extended a 15-match streak of double-figure kills dating back to last season and moved into eighth all-time in total attacks. McInnes was also named tournament MVP and UCU Athlete of the Week.
 
Brooker earned her second all-tournament recognition of the nonconference season, trading time between opposite and setter for UC San Diego. She finished the weekend with 24 kills (2.00 per set), 20 assists (1.67 per set), 21 digs (1.75 per set) and eight blocks (0.67 per set). Brooker also finished third on the team with 28.5 total points.
 
AWARD WINNERS
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)
 
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 1,005 career kills and 2,942 attack attempts. She recorded her career 1,000th career kill on Sept. 23 against Cal Poly. McInnes is nine kills away from tying ninth all-time in career kills (1,014, Molly Wheatley), 20 kills away from eighth and 44 kills away from seventh. She ranks seventh all-time in attack attempts—10 away from moving into sixth (2,952) and 84 away from fifth all-time (3,026).
 

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.	3,314	Stacy Dunsmore (2001-04)
4.	1,182	Stacy Dunsmore (2001-04)	4.	3,204	Katie Condon (2008-11)
5.	1,172	Diana Klintworth (1986-89)	5.	3,026	Diana Klintworth (1986-89)
6.	1,116	Bonnie Wilson (2002-04)	6.	2,952	Sylvia Schmidt (2006-09)
7.	1,049	Kristin Kilbourn (1981-84)	7.	2,942	Ava McInnes (2021-Present)
8.	1,025	Hillary Williamson (2008-11)	8.	2,887	Hillary Williamson (2008-11)
9.	1,014	Molly Wheatley (1981-84)
10.	1,005	Ava McInnes (2021-Present)

 
STACKING UP AGAINST THE BIG WEST
After five weeks of competition in the books, UC San Diego ranks first in team blocks (2.66 per set), second in opponent hitting percentage (.173) and opponent kills (11.63 per set), third in hitting percentage (.208) and service aces (1.65 per set) and fourth in points (16.36 per set).

• Ava McInnes ranks first in points (4.73 per set) and kills (3.93 per set), fourth in aces (0.38 per set) and is tied for ninth in hitting percentage (.278).
• Emily McDaniel ranks first in blocks (1.51 per set) and fifth in hitting percentage (.303).
• Nevada Knowles ranks sixth in assists (6.83 per set).
• Zaria Henderson is tied for ninth in service aces (0.33).
• Jasmine Saran ranks tenth in hitting percentage (.268) and 11th in blocks (1.02 per set).
• Natalie Repetti ranks eighth in digs (3.53 per set) and is tied for ninth in aces (0.33 per set).

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.