LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball was swept for the first time this season, falling to San Diego State, 3-0. The Tritons (4-3) opened their home schedule and the UC San Diego Invitational on Thursday in LionTree Arena, dropping three tightly contested sets to the Aztecs (2-5), 19-25, 22-25, 21-25.
 
Emily McDaniel led the Tritons with 11 kills, while hitting .600 and adding a team-high three blocks (two solo) for 13.5 points. Freshmen Lauren Brooker and Reagan McWhinney both finished second on the team with five kills apiece. Nevada Knowles tallied 16 assists, while Brooker added 11 and Dana Branavets finished with a team-high 10 digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Diego State jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the opening set, forcing the Tritons to play catch up the rest of the way. The Tritons used a 4-0 run to pull within one and eventually rallied to pull even with SDSU, 14-14. The set was knotted as late at 17-all before the Aztecs used a late 4-0 scoring run to pull away, eventually taking the opening set, 25-19.
 
The Aztecs took another early lead to start the second set, 8-4, and extended their lead to as many as six before the Tritons began to battle back. UC San Diego used a 4-1 scoring run to cut the deficit in half at 18-15. The Tritons closed the gap further at 22-20 but ultimately ran out of time before they could complete the comeback.
 
In the final set, the Tritons held a slip 8-7 lead early before SDSU scored five-straight points to jump in front, 12-8. UC San Diego answered with a run of its own, 8-1, to retake the lead 16-13, but another five-point run put the Aztecs in front, 20-17. The Tritons pulled within one point late, 22-21, but San Diego scored the final three points to close out the set, 25-21, and the match, 3-0.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons hit .165 as a team, compared to .311 for San Diego State.
• It is the third double-figure scoring effort of the season for Emily McDaniel.  
• With the loss, UC San Diego moved to 0-16 in the all-time series with SDSU.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain in La Jolla for the second day of the UC San Diego Invitational, taking on Navy on Friday evening at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available 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.