LA JOLLA, Calif.—Leading UC San Diego women's volleyball to a 3-0 victory at LionTree Arena,
Ava McInnes had a career night as she snapped the all-time kills record on Saturday night against Cal State Bakersfield.
The Tritons (17-12, 11-7 Big West) took all three sets over the Runners (12-18, 6-12 Big West) by set scores of 25-17, 25-22, and 25-22.
Sporting a 51.7 kill percentage,
Ava McInnes celebrated her senior night with 15 kills to lead the Tritons at the net.
Emily McDaniel tallied 12 kills on 19 attacks for a team-high kill percentage of 63.2%. Libero
Paulina Baillie led the defense with 13 digs followed by
Iris Canko (8) and
Molly McCluskey (7).
HOW IT HAPPENED
The gold and blue came out swinging in set one with 13 of their 25 points coming on kills. UC San Diego jumped out to an early lead behind kills from
Jasmine Saran,
Emily McDaniel, and
Ava McInnes. The closest the Runners were able to come was within 3 when the score was 17-14. The Tritons went on a six-point run to pull away from the visitors and finish the set at 25-17.
After dropping the first set, the Runners responded in set two holding an early lead over the hosts. The two teams traded the lead 16 times, sticking with one another until 21-21. McDaniel's kill from
Audrey Hollis brought the Tritons even then two kills from
Kylie Pries gave the hosts some room. Two attack errors from the visitors gave the Tritons the win at 25-22.
In the final set of the night, UC San Diego was in the lead for the entire set behind five kills from
Ava McInnes. The Tritons kept the Runners at bay with an early lead and holding the momentum with three different pairs of points put together back-to-back. After setting the all-time kills career record, McInnes put the nail in the coffin for the visitors as she put down her 15th kill of the night to finish the set at 25-22.
TRITON TIDBITS
•
Ava McInnes moved into first place all-time in the UC San Diego record books for career kills. After tonight's match with 15 kills tallied, the senior now has 1,532 career-kills.
• UC San Diego is now 5-5 in three set matches this season.
• The Tritons are now 17-7 in the all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield.
• Before the start of the match, six Triton seniors were honored for Senior Night.
• Tonight's victory clinched the Triton's first Big West championship appearance.
• UC San Diego starters were
Kylie Pries,
Ava McInnes, Molly McCluskey, Paulina Baillie, Audrey Hollis, Jasmine Saran, and Emily McDaniel.
UP NEXT
The Tritons will face Long Beach State in the first round of the Big West Championship on Wednesday, Nov. 27. The match is set for 3 p.m. in Irvine.
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.
