LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball will add 10 newcomers to its roster in advance of the 2024 season, including three transfers and seven first-year scholar-athletes.
The Tritons will welcome first-year scholar-athletes
Lucia Barroso (Templeton),
Paulina Baillie (Carlsbad),
Katelyn Hernandez (Chula Vista),
Audrey Hollis (Colorado Springs),
Madison Johnson (Temecula),
Molly McCluskey (Costa Mesa) and
Valentina Meirelles (São Paulo, Brazil).
Sinead Beaupain (San Francisco),
Kylie Pries (San Juan Capistrano) and
Kailee Wakatake (Honolulu) join UC San Diego after competing for UC Santa Cruz, University of San Diego and Taft College, respectively.
The newcomers will join a talented group of veterans, highlighted by standout senior outside hitter
Ava McInnes who earned All-Big West First Team a season ago. Additionally, 2023 All-Big West honorees
Emily McDaniel,
Jasmine Saran and
Lauren Brooker return for the UC San Diego squad, led by first-year head coach
Melanie Greene.
In 2023, the Tritons finished 17-13 overall and 9-9 in conference play. UC San Diego's fifth-place finish would have qualified the Tritons for the inaugural Big West Championship had the department been eligible for postseason competition. With the NCAA's four-year reclassification period complete, all of UC San Diego's programs will be eligible for both Big West and NCAA postseason competition in 2024-25.
MEET THE NEWEST TRITONS
PAULINA BAILLIE
» 5'6" | Defensive Specialist | Fr.
» Carlsbad, Calif.
» Sage Creek HS | Coast Volleyball Club
» Communications
»
About Paulina: Born in Oceanside, Calif….Majoring in communications at Marshall College…After graduation she hopes to obtain her MBA.
»
High School: Graduated in 2024 from Sage Creek High School…Two-time Defensive Player of the Year (2021, 2023)…MVP and Honorable Mention in 2022…First Team All- League in 2024 and Second Team All-League in 2023…First place in the Senior All-Star Game…JVA Watch List…Also competed for Coast Volleyball Club.
LUCIA BARROSO
» 6'1" | Middle | Fr.
» Templeton, Calif.
» Templeton HS | Flight Academy/Tstreet
» Mechanical Engineering
»
About Lucia: Has one older brother, Kiko and one younger sister, Gabriela…Father, Francisco, played water polo at Cuesta College and was born and raised in Spain…Brother, Kiko, plays baseball at Cuesta College…After graduation, she plans to attend grad school for prosthetics engineering and eventually hopes to develop customized prosthetics for veterans and young athletes…Enjoys cooking, water sports and traveling in her spare time.
»
High School: Scholar Athlete of the Year…Two-time First Team All-League (2022, 2023) and two-time Team MVP (2022, 2023)…Also played varsity basketball and softball in high school… Was the head coach of her school's varsity men's volleyball program in 2024…Competed for Flight Academy (2021-2023) and Tstreet (2023-24) Volleyball Clubs…Helped her team to a third-place finish in the SCVA in 2024.
SINEAD BEAUPAIN
» 5'7" | Setter | Gr.
» San Francisco, Calif.
» Lowell HS | Beach Vibes Volleyball Club | UC Santa Cruz
» Chemical Engineering
»
About Sinead: Has two younger brothers, Aiden and Lucas…Mother Justine swam competitively at Clarion College and was a 22-time All-American…After graduation, she plans to gain experience making batteries for the sustainable energy industry before one day returning to school for her PhD…Hobbies outside of volleyball include painting and reading.
»
Previous School: Spent three seasons at UC Santa Cruz (D-III)… First Team All Coast-To-Coast Conference (2021) and ACAA Freshman of the Year and Tournament MVP (2019)…Collected 1,547 assists in three seasons, averaging 5.67 assists per set…Collected 569 assists (6.12 per set) and 183 digs (1.97 per set) as a senior in 2022.
KATELYN HERNANDEZ
» 5'7" | Outside Hitter | So.
» Chula Vista, Calif.
» Olympian HS | Storm VBC
» Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience
»
About Katelyn: Has two older brothers, Sean and Dylan and one younger sister, Stephanie…Plans to get her master's degree after graduation from UC San Diego…Enjoys spending time with family, working out, traveling and doing puzzles in her free time…Favorite volleyball memory is competing in the 2023 Global Challenge Tournament in Croatia.
»
High School: Selected team MVP, team captain and First Team All-Mesa League as a senior (2022)…Named Best Offensive Player and San Diego Fall Classic All-Tournament Team (2019)… Also competed for Flash 619 (2015-19) and Storm Volleyball Club (2019-23)… Helped her team to the Buccaneers Bash Tournament Gold Division Championship (2021), first place in the Gold Division at the AAU West Coast Championship (2021) and first overall ranking in the SCVA (2022).
AUDREY HOLLIS
» 6'0" | Setter | Fr.
» Colorado Springs, Colo.
» Rampart HS | Front Range VBC
» Political Science
»
About Audrey: Has an older sister, Lyla, older brother, Nolan and a younger sister Norah…Father, Ron played baseball at Michigan and professionally for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization…Mother, Marita played volleyball at Michigan…Sister, Lyla played volleyball at NAU…Brother, Nolan played baseball at the University of Miami…Enjoys playing piano.
»
High School: Played two years for the Rams as a freshman and sophomore before graduating a year early and training solely with Front Range Volleyball Club…Helped her team with the USAV 18s National Championship in the National Division (2022).
MADISON JOHNSON
» 6'3" | Middle | Fr.
» Temecula, Calif.
» Chaparral HS | Forza 1 Volleyball Club
» Business Finance
»
About Madison: Has one younger sister, Ella…Mother, Gretchen played volleyball at Hofstra University…Hopes to work in finance as a portfolio manager after graduation…Enjoys shopping, hanging out with friends and going to the beach…Has visited over half the states in the U.S.
»
High School: Four-year varsity athlete…AB Miller MVP and Grand Terrace All-Tournament MVP… Four-year honor roll student and Platinum Circle Awardee (cumulative GPA of 4.0+)…Also competed with Forza 1 Volleyball Club…Helped her team to a first-place finish at Citrus Valley, AB Miller, Grand Terrace and Dave Mohs.
MOLLY McCLUSKEY
» 6'3" | Outside/Opposite | Fr.
» Costa Mesa, Calif.
» Edison HS | Tstreet Volleyball Club
»
About Molly: Has a younger sister, Chloe…Member of Sixth College…Favorite movie is Legally Blonde…Listens to Tame Impala, Drake, Rihanna and The Weekend…Favorite food is fruit.
»
High School: Team MVP as a senior (2023)…Three-time All-Sunset League (first- 2023, 2022; second- 2021)…Best Offense in 2022…Three-time scholar-athlete and all-conference academic team (2021-2023)…Helped her team to the 2022 Wave League Championship…Also played beach volleyball as a freshman and sophomore…Competed for Tstreet Volleyball Club.
VALENTINA MEIRELLES
» 6'1" | Outside | Fr.
» São Paulo, Brazil
» Colégio Avanço
»
About Valentina: Has a younger sister, Sarah…Father, Joao played water polo at Long Beach State…Mother, Marion sailed at UC Irvine…Enjoys reading, creating the best playlists and trying to train her dog in her spare time…Favorite athlete is her father...Dreams of one day becoming a president or a standup comedian.
»
High School: Graduated from Colégio Avanço in São Paulo…2023 State São Paulo (9th place in Sub 21 and Sub 19)…2022 CBI-Brasileiro Interclubes (6th place in Sub 17)…2021 State São Paulo (3rd place in Sub 19; 5th place in Sub 17)…2019 Campeonato Sindiclubes (1st place)…2020 Sport Athletic of the Year, Club Athletico Paulistano.
KYLIE PRIES
» 6'2" | Outside | Gr.
» San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
» Saddleback Valley Christian School | Tstreet Volleyball Club | San Diego
»
About Kylie: Born in Newport Beach, Calif. to Jeff and Barbara Pries…Has three older siblings, Jake Micah and Mckenna…Brother Jake Pries played baseball at UCLA and for the minor league affiliates of the New York Yankees organization…Brother Micah Pries played baseball at Point Loma Nazarene and is currently playing minor league baseball in the Cleveland Guardians organization.
»
Previous School: Competed four seasons at the University of San Diego…All-WCC First Team (2023) and Honorable Mention (2021)…Played in all five of USD's NCAA Tournament matches in 2022 including the national semifinal…Averaged 2.97 points, 2.29 kills, 2.01 digs as a senior in 2023, finishing third on the team in total kills (204), kills per set, total points (264.0), service aces (29), total digs (179) and total blocks (60.0)…Recorded a career high 17 kills at San Diego State (Sept. 11, 2021).
KAILEE WAKATAKE
» 5'1" | Defensive Specialist | Jr.
» Honolulu, Hawai'i
» Kalani HS | Aloha State VBC | Taft College
» Sociology
»
About Kailee: Majoring in sociology and hopes to work in the healthcare industry, possibly in ultrasound sonography, radiology or health administration…Enjoys going to the beach in her free time.
»
Previous School: Competed two seasons at Taft College (2022, 2023)…Two-time Libero of the Year and First Team All-Conference selection…
As a sophomore in 2023: Appeared in 29 matches (102 sets) with 669 digs (6.56 per set), 42 assists and 27 services aces…
As a freshman in 2022: Appeared in 27 matches (89 sets) with 467 digs (5.25 per set), 42 assists and 46 service aces.
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 Conference 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 83 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.
