LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball fell in a back-and-forth battle with Hawai'i, 3-2, on Friday evening in LionTree Arena.
The Tritons (7-8, 1-3 Big West) took the opening two sets over the Rainbow Wahine (8-5, 2-1 Big West) 25-13, 25-18 before dropping the final three sets, 14-25, 12-25 and 15-10.
Ava McInnes led the offensive effort for the Tritons with 14 kills, while
Kylie Pries added 11 and
Emily McDaniel and
Katie Rapp chipped in nine and eight kills respectively.
Audrey Hollis collected 37 assists in the contest.
Paulina Baillie led the team in the back court with 12 digs, while McInnes added nine and Hollis chipped in seven. Three different Tritons had two blocks apiece, including
Jasmine Saran, McDaniel and Rapp.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego got off to a hot start in set one, taking an early 7-1 lead behind two service aces from McInnes. Back-to-back kills by Pries and an ace by Karacaova helped to extend the Tritons lead, 15-5, midway through the frame. Three quick points by the 'Bows made it 18-11, but UC San Diego closed out the set on a 5-1 run to take the opening frame, 25-13.
The teams kept it close to begin the second set, battling to an 12-12 tie. A series of attack errors by Hawai'i and an ace by McInnes sparked a six-point run for the Tritons to make it 18-12. UC San Diego outscored UH, 4-1, to close out the set, 25-18 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Hawai'i built a quick, 7-3, lead to start set three and maintained the four-point advantage midway through the set, 15-11. The Rainbow Wahine caught fire in the second half of the frame, outscoring the Tritons, 10-2, down the stretch to take the third set, 25-14, and extend the match.
The 'Bows took an early 4-1 lead in set four before the Tritons responded with a six-point scoring run to jump in front, 7-4. UC San Diego maintained the advantage at 10-7 before UH caught fire once again. The Rainbow Wahine put together a 11-1 scoring run to build a commanding, 18-11, lead. Hawai'i scored the final seven consecutive points to take the set, 25-12 and force a deciding fifth set.
UC San Diego came out strong in the final set, taking an early 5-3 lead. Hawai'i scored seven unanswered to jump in front, 10-5. McInnes tallied three straight kills to keep the Tritons in the set, 13-10, but UH put down a kill and an ace to secure the set, 15-10, and the match, 3-2.
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will travel for a pair of road matches next week, taking on Cal State Bakersfield on Friday and CSUN on Saturday. The matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available 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 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.
