LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego women's volleyball fell in four sets to UC Davis on Saturday evening in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (6-22, 4-12 Big West) dropped their second match of the season to the Aggies (18-6, 14-2 Big West) by set scores of 18-25, 21-25, 25-20, 13-25.
 
Katie Rapp led the Tritons with 14 kills and Ireland McNees added 11, while Molly McCluskey and Jasmine Saran chipped in seven apiece. McNees led the Tritons with 16 digs, joined by Paulina Baillie, and Mika Rome finished with 14. Rome recorded a double-double with 35 assists and added a team-best three aces. McNees and Mina Olgar both tallied two aces in the contest.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded points early in the opening set, battling to a 7-7 tie. The Aggies used a 6-2 scoring to create separation, 13-9. Rapp put down back-to-back kills to make it 13-11, UC Davis continued to pull away, 21-14. A kill and an ace by McNees kept the Tritons in the fight at 21-17, but the Aggies scored four of the final five points to take the set, 25-18.
 
After Davis took the early lead, 6-3, the Tritons scored four unanswered behind to solo blocks from McCluskey and Saran and an ace by Mina Olgar to pull in front, 7-6. The Aggies found their rhythm midway through the set, building a six-point advantage, 18-12. UC San Diego rallied late in the set with a four-point run behind tough serving from Rome with a pair of aces and kills from Olgar and McClusky to make it 22-21. However, Davis scored the final three points to take the set, 25-21. 
 
The third set was tightly contested early on once again, with the teams trading points to a 12-10 Aggie advantage. Saran sparked a four-point swing for the Tritons with a kill, followed by back-to-back kills for Rapp and capped with a service ace by McCluskey to make it 14-12 in favor of the home team. UC San Diego maintained a two-point advantage to 20-18 before closing the set strong with a 5-2 run. The Tritons capitalized on UCD errors and capped the set with a kill by Rapp to take the victory, 25-20.
 
UC Davis found its momentum once again, opening the fourth set with a 4-1 advantage. A kill and an ace by Olgar pulled the Tritons within two, 12-10, but the Aggies responded with four consecutive points to build their lead out once again, 16-10. The Tritons continued to fight down the stretch but the Davis offensive proved too much, closing out the set on a five-point run to win, 25-13.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Ireland McNees recorded her eighth double-double of the season and Mika Rome recorded her fifth.
• UC Davis held the advantage in blocks (13-3), aces (10-9), digs (61-59) and hitting percentage (.256 to .162).
• The Tritons are 2-10 in four-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 14-13 in the all-time series (3-7 in D-I) and 0-2 this season against UC Davis.
• Starters included Paulina Baillie, Lucia Barroso, Molly McCluskey, Ireland McNees, Katie Rapp, Mika Rome and Jasmine Saran. 

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will continue wrap up their home schedule and celebrate Senior Night on Tuesday at 6 p.m. against  Long Beach State. 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.