LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball defeated the Big West leader UC Davis, 3-2, on Friday evening in LionTree Arena.
 
The Tritons (13-9, 7-4 Big West) handed the Aggies (14-6, 9-2 Big West) just their second conference loss of the season by set scores of 25-22, 18-25, 25-14, 23-25 and 17-15.
 
Emily McDaniel led the Tritons offensively with a career-high 16 kills and 20.5 points, while Kylie Pries collected 14 kills and 15 digs for her second double-double of the season. Molly McCluskey finished just shy of a double-double herself with nine kills and a career-high 14 digs, while Jasmine Saran and Ava McInnes chipped in eight and seven kills respectively.  
 
Paulina Baillie collected 25 digs to lead UC San Diego in the back court, while McDaniel tallied seven blocks to lead the defensive effort at the net. Saran and Hollis added five blocks apiece. Audrey Hollis tallied 46 assists and seven digs for the Tritons. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies looked to have the first set in hand, jumping out to an early 9-1 lead. UC Davis maintained a seven-point advantage at 18-11 before the Tritons began to rally. With UCD on top 21-15, UC San Diego scored nine unanswered with Baillie at the service line. The run was sparked by a McDaniel kill and highlighted by three kills from both Saran and Pries to give the Tritons set point and UC San Diego went on to take the opening frame, 25-22.
 
Once again, UC Davis got off to a quick start in set two, building an early 8-3 lead. The Aggies extended their lead to seven, 16-9, before the Tritons put together a 5-1 scoring run to close the distance. UC San Diego continued to battle down the stretch, but UC Davis scored the final four points unanswered to take the set, 25-18, and even the match, 1-1.
 
The Tritons responded in the third set, building an early 14-6 advantage behind a five-point scoring run with Baillie at the service line once again. The Aggies rallied to withing three points at 15-12, but UC San Diego went on to outscore UC Davis, 10-2, to close out the set, 25-14.
 
The fourth set started similarly to the second, with the Aggies taking control early, 8-3, and extended their lead, 17-10. The Tritons rallied to pull within two, 19-17, after a kill by Saran and a solo block by McDaniel and pulled closer once again after a three-point scoring run made it 21-20. The Tritons fought off two set points before the Aggies eventually closed it out, 25-23, to force a deciding fifth set.
 
UC Davis carried the momentum into the final frame, jumping out to a 7-3 lead. A 5-1 scoring run, highlighted by an ace from Iris Canko and a kill from both McDaniel and Pries pulled the teams even, 8-all. After the Aggies pulled back in front, 11-8, the Tritons put together another 4-1 run, aided by two UCD serving errors and kills from Pries and McInnes to pull even once again 12-12. The teams traded points down the stretch before the Aggies reached the first match point, 15-14. Another service error by UC Davis pulled the teams even at 15-all before an Aggie attack error gave the Tritons the advantage. Pries closed out the marathon match with a cross-court kill to seal the victory, 17-15.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Emily McDaniel finished with career highs in both kills (16) and points (20.5). 
• Molly McCluskey recorded a career high 15 digs.
• Kylie Pries collected her second double-double of the season.
• The Tritons held the advantage in blocks (13-8) and hitting percentage (.190 to .136), while UC Davis had the edge in kills (60-55), aces (11-3) and digs (77-75).
• UC San Diego is 4-4 in five-set matches this season.
• With the win, the Tritons are 14-11 in the all-times series (3-5 in D-I) and 1-1 on the season series with UC Davis.
• UC San Diego starters were Kylie Pries, Molly McCluskey, Paulina Baillie, Audrey Hollis, Jasmine Saran, Emily McDaniel and Iris Canko.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will remain in LionTree Arena to host UC Riverside on Saturday at 6 p.m. It is Youth Night for the Tritons with post-match autographs and popper fidget toys for the first 100 kids 12 & under. The match 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.