LOS ANGELES—UC San Diego women's volleyball dropped a five-set battle to UNLV to start the Trojans/Lions Invitational on Thursday evening.
 
The Tritons (6-3) fell to the Rebels (7-2) by scores of 25-20, 22-25, 25-21, 24-26 and 4-15 in the Galen Center. 
 
Kylie Pries led all scorers with a season-high 16 kills and 17.5 points, while Ava McInnes added 15 kills and Jasmine Saran chipped in seven. Audrey Hollis recorded her second career double-double with 39 assists and a season-high 14 digs, while McInnes also finished with 12 digs for her second double-double.
 
Opposite Katie Rapp led the way defensively with seven blocks, while middles Madison Johnson and Saran added six apiece. Libero Paulina Baillie matched her season high with 23 digs and Iris Canko recorded a career-high with 10 digs.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons jumped out to an early lead in set one, 6-2, and extended their advantage, 14-8, midway through the frame. UNLV used a four-point run to cut the lead to one, 17-16, before UC San Diego responded with a 4-0 run of its own. Back-to-back kills from Johnson and Katie Rapp made it 23-17 and a block by Pries and Johnson sealed the opening set victory, 25-20.
 
The Rebels flipped the script in the second set, building a 16-8 lead at the halfway point. The Tritons made a late push, outscoring UNLV, 7-2, down the stretch to pull within one point, 24-22, but a kill by the Rebels ended the comeback, 25-22.
 
UC San Diego came out of the intermission with renewed energy in set three, building a 12-6 advantage before UNLV used a 7-1 scoring run to pull even, 13-all. The Rebels carried the momentum to an 18-16 lead but the Tritons countered with 6-1 run of their own to jump back in front, 22-19. A kill by McInnes and another timely block by Pries  and Johnson gave UC San Diego set point, 24-20. Johnson closed out the frame with a tipped kill to take the set, 25-21, and the 2-1 match lead.
 
It was all UNLV to begin the fourth frame, building a commanding 20-13 advantage. The Tritons began to threaten late with a four-point run sparked by anther Johnson kill to pull within three, 20-17. With the Rebels leading, 23-18, UC San Diego put together an impressive 6-1 scoring run to pull even, 24-all. The Tritons fought off three set points with two Pries kills and a timely UNLV hitting error to extend the set. However, the Rebels eventually took the set 26-24 and forced a deciding fifth frame.
 
It was all UNLV in the final set, as the Tritons struggled to get going offensively. UC San Diego hit -.217 in the final frame, compared to .375 for the Rebels.  
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Thursday marked the first match graduate transfer Kylie Pries led the Tritons offensively this season. She finished one kill shy of her career high (17  at San Diego State; Sept. 11, 2021).
• Freshman Madison Johnson made her first collegiate start in the contest, finishing with four kills, six blocks and one dig.
• Audrey Hollis and Ava McInnes both recorded double-doubles in the contest.
• The Tritons held the slight edge in blocks (13-12), digs (80-77) and aces (6-5), while the Rebels had the advantage in kills (66-52) and assists (60-45).
• UC San Diego is 1-3 in five-set contests this season.
• With the loss, the Tritons are now 1-3 in the all-time series with UNLV.

UP NEXT
UC San Diego will continue the road trip in Los Angeles, traveling to face LMU on Friday at 6 p.m. in Gersten Pavilion. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics 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.