LA JOLLA, Calif.— Competing in their second match of the season, the UC San Diego women's volleyball team picked up a gritty five-set victory over Southern Utah on Saturday evening at LionTree Arena.
 
The Tritons won three of five sets on Saturday by: 25-19, 24-26, 25-9, 26-28 and 15-9 scores.
 
UC San Diego improved its record to 2-0 on the season, while Southern Utah fell to 0-3 through the second day of action.
 
Saturday night's match was the first ever meeting between the Tritons and the Thunderbirds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Getting ready for its second match of the season, UC San Diego was able to take the initial point of the match on a key block from Ava McInnes that led to a Southern Utah attack error. Both teams spent the middle part of the first set feeling each other out, as it was a 13-all score before the Tritons rattled off three straight points with kills from Jasmine Saran and Emily McDaniel. After Southern Utah put together a late rally by scoring three of four points, UC San Diego put the set to bed with a McInnes kill off a Lauren Brooker assist for a 25-19 win.
 
Trying to build off a strong first set, the Tritons took three of the first four points as a trio of Audrey Hollis serves resulted in SUU attack errors. The Thunderbirds continued battling late in the set, scoring the final six points to even the match by winning the second set 26-24.
 
Working hard to bounce back in the third set, Molly McCluskey delivered an impressive kill for her team's first point and the UC San Diego defense was relentless throughout the set. Building the team's lead to double digits midway through the set as Kylie Pries delivered a key kill off a great assist from Hollis to put the Tritons ahead 15-5. UC San Diego delivered the knock-out blow on a Southern Utah bad set off a tremendous serve from Paulina Baillie as the Tritons earned a 25-9 set three victory.
 
Continuing the theme of a see-saw match, the Tritons were able to grab an early 3-2 lead thanks in part to a pair of Valentina Meirelles' kills before Southern Utah built some separation with an 8-4 lead early in the fourth set. UC San Diego was undeterred by the deficit late in the set as a strong serve from Sabire Karacaova forced a Thunderbird attack error that evened the score at 24 apiece in what would be a thrilling finish. Southern Utah was able to pull away late to take set four 28-26 to force a fifth and final set.
 
Putting the final touches on a tremendous match, Saran came through with UC San Diego's first kill of the set to even the score at one and McCluskey helped lead a mini-Triton run to put them ahead 5-2 early in the set. McDaniel continued her strong start to the season with UC San Diego's final kill of the match and Baillie forced a pair of Thunderbird attack errors for the Tritons to come away with the 15-9 set victory and their second win of the young season.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Making her UC San Diego debut on Saturday against the Thunderbirds, Pries put together a strong performance by posting 12 digs and seven kills as she played the final three sets in Saturday's match.
• Helping to lead her team's offense against Southern Utah, McDaniel matched the team-high with 14 kills to go along with six block assists and a trio of digs.
• Following up her strong debut with another good performance, McCluskey contributed 14 kills and eight digs to help UC San Diego start the new season 2-0.
• Both freshmen Audrey Hollis and Madison Johnson made their collegiate and UC San Diego debuts against the Thunderbirds.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons return to the court tomorrow afternoon for the final match of the UC San Diego Invitational as they host Gonzaga on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1:00 p.m. from LionTree Arena. Links to live video on ESPN+ and live statistics can be found on the team's website.
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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.