LOS ANGELES—UC San Diego women's volleyball fell, 3-1, at No. 21 USC to wrap up the Trojans/Lions Invitational.
The Tritons (6-5) fell in four sets to the Trojans (8-2) by scores of 32-30, 20-25, 19-25 and 11-25 on Saturday evening in the Galen Center.
Ava McInnes led the Tritons with 12 kills, while
Lauren Brooker added 10 and
Kylie Pries and
Jasmine Saran each finished with seven.
Paulina Baillie tallied three aces and Saran and
Sabire Karacaova added two.
Audrey Hollis collected 29 assists in the contest.
Defensively,
Madison Johnson led the way at the net with four blocks, while Pries and Saran added three apiece. McInnes led the team with a season-high 19 digs and Baillie added 14.
HOW IT HAPPENED
USC came out strong with an early 8-2 lead in set one, but the Tritons responded with a 6-1 run to pull within one point, 9-8. The Trojans built their lead back to 19-15 but a pair of kills and an ace by Pries sparked a Triton comeback to pull even 20-20. The teams traded points in a back-and-forth battle down the stretch and Saran finally closed it out for UC San Diego with an ace to take the first set 32-30.
The teams remained knotted to begin the second frame, battling to an 8-8 tie. USC then went on a 7-2 run to create distance, 15-10. The Trojans extended their advantage to as many as seven points before the Tritons rallied late behind tough serving from Saran. An ace by the junior brought UC San Diego within two points, 21-19, but USC outscored the Tritons 4-1 to close out the set, 25-20.
After the UC San Diego took the early lead, 7-4, the momentum swung in favor of USC to jump in front 11-8. The Tritons battled back to a 14-14 tie before the Trojans scored five unanswered to build back a comfortable lead, 19-14. UC San Diego continued to battle down the stretch, but USC took the set, 25-19, and led the match 2-1.
It was all Trojans to start the fourth and final set, jumping out to a comfortable 15-6 lead and never looking back. Brooker found some success in the opposite position, collecting four of the Tritons' seven kills in the set. However, UC San Diego was unable to mount a comeback, falling 25-11 to close out the match.
TRITON TIDBITS
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will begin Big West play next week on the road, traveling to face UC Riverside (Sept. 26) and UC Davis (Sept. 28). The matches 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.
