LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego women's volleyball fell in three sets to Long Beach State on Tuesday evening in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (6-23, 4-13 Big West) dropped their second match of the season series with the Beach (20-8, 13-4 Big West) by set scores of 21-25, 17-25, 11-25.
 
Molly McCluskey led the Tritons with 12 kills, while Jasmine Saran and Ireland McNees added four apiece. McNees led the team with five digs, while Kayla Uhlick and Mika Rome finished with four each. Saran recorded five blocks, while Rome tallied 23 assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Long Beach State used an early four-point run to lead 7-4 in the opening set. UC San Diego responded with a pair of kills from McCluskey and a block by Rapp and Saran, pulling even, 11-11. The Beach answered again with a 5-1 scoring run to pull back in front, 16-12. The Tritons battled back to within one point, 21-20, behind kills from Rapp and McNees and a service ace by McNees. However, LBSU outscored UC San Diego, 4-1, to close out the set, 25-21.
 
The teams remained close in the early part of set two, battling to 9-9 tie. Long Beach State capitalized on Triton errors and a series of kills to put together an 8-1 scoring run. UC San Diego rallied late behind strong play by Saran and Maria Fernanda Afonso providing a spark off the bench to make it 22-16, but the deficit proved too much and the Beach took the set, 25-17.
 
The final set remained close early on, with Long Beach holding an 8-7 advantage. The Beach then scored seven unanswered points with an aggressive attack to create separation. The Tritons continued to battle down the stretch but LBSU ultimately took the set, 25-11, to secure the sweep.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego celebrated three seniors playing in their final match in LionTree Arena. Seniors included Katie Rapp, Jasmine Saran and Kayla Uhlick.
• The Tritons had the advantage in blocks (6-5), while LBSU had the edge in aces (6-3) and digs (31-26).
• The Tritons are 3-8 in three-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 0-11 in the all-time series and 0-2 this season against Long Beach State.
• Starters included Paulina Baillie, Lucia Barroso, Molly McCluskey, Ireland McNees, Katie Rapp, Mika Rome and Jasmine Saran. 

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will conclude their 2025-26 schedule on the road at Hawai'i on Friday at 9 p.m. PT. 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.