LONG BEACH, Calif. — UC San Diego women's volleyball fell in four sets to Long Beach State on Thursday evening at Walter Pyramid. The Tritons (4-15, 2-5 Big West) battled the Beach (13-5, 6-1 Big West) to set scores of 14-25, 25-16, 23-25, 15-25.
 
Ireland McNees led the Tritons with 11 kills, while Molly McCluskey and Maria Fernanda Afonso added eight apiece. McNees added nine digs, with Paulina Baillie collecting a match-high 17 digs and Mika Rome adding seven. Rome also led the team with 19 assists, while Maija Nepszy added 15. Mina Olgar led the team with four blocks, and Katie Rapp and Jasmine Saran added three. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Long Beach State jumped out to an early, 5-1, lead to start set one. The Beach extended the advantage, 15-7, with a six-point scoring run midway through the set. The Tritons continued to battle down the stretch, but LBSU took the opening set easily, 25-14.
 
UC San Diego flipped the momentum early in set two, scoring six unanswered behind back-to-back kills from Saran to pull in front, 11-4. After LBSU pulled within three points, the Tritons responded with a kill from McNees and an ace by Baillie to jump back up, 14-7, midway through the set. UC San Diego used strong defense down the stretch, holding Long Beach State to a -.081 hitting percentage in the set behind 14 digs and two blocks to take the second frame, 25-16.
 
The third set began similarly for the Tritons, building a 6-0 lead behind four errors from the Beach, a solo block by McNees and an ace by Nepszy. UC San Diego maintained its six point advantage as late as 14-8 before LBSU began to mount a comeback. The Beach caught fire late in the set, using a 7-1 scoring run to take their first lead of the set, 20-18. The teams pulled even at 20, 21 and 22 before a three-point run gave LBSU the first set point, 24-22. McNees fought off one set point with a kill for the Tritons, but Long Beach State secured the set, 25-23.
 
After the teams traded points early in set four, the Tritons build the first lead, 8-5. Long Beach State responded with a four-point run to take the lead, 9-8. After UC San Diego pulled even at 9-all, LBSU put together a seven-point scoring run to put the set out of reach, 16-9. The Tritons continued to battle down the stretch, with back-to-back kills from Afonso and Rapp, but the deficit proved too much and the Beach closed out the set, 25-15, and the match, 3-1.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Long Beach State had the advantage in aces (6-3), blocks (13-8) and hitting percentage (.158 to .119). The teams were fairly even in digs (52-51) and assists (40-38).
• The Tritons are 1-5 in four-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 0-10 in the all-time series with Long Beach State.
• Starters included Paulina Baillie, Molly McCluskey, Ireland McNees, Maija Nepszy, Mina Olgar, Jasmine Saran and Kayla Uhlick.

UP NEXT
The Tritons will return to La Jolla to play host to Hawai'i on Saturday at 6 p.m. in LionTree Arena. The match 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.