SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — UC San Diego women's volleyball fell to Cal Poly in four sets on Saturday evening at Mott Athletics Center, with scores of 25-19, 19-25, 16-25, 14-25. The Tritons (6-20, 4-10 Big West) recorded 47 kills, but Cal Poly (21-5, 12-2 Big West) maintained a .331 hitting percentage to secure the victory.
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Molly McCluskey led the offensive charge with 18 kills on 35 swings and added 10 digs, recording her 12th double-double of the season.
Mika Rome orchestrated the play with 34 assists and fortified the defense with seven digs and two blocks.
Ireland McNees recorded 12 kills and a team-high 17 digs, tallying her seventh double-double.
Jasmine Saran added nine kills on 24 attempts and delivered one service ace to round out the top performances.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego began the first set with a strong performance, using kills by Saran and McNees and a service ace by Saran to take an 8-4 lead. A kill by McCluskey and an ace by
Paulina Baillie extended the Tritons' lead to five, 19-14. Despite Cal Poly's attempts to stay competitive, UC San Diego maintained momentum. The set concluded with a decisive kill by McCluskey, bringing the score to 25-19 in favor of the Tritons.
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Cal Poly gained the momentum early in the second set, quickly jumping out to a 10-3 advantage through effective blocking, key kills and a service ace. The Tritons fought back with a series of points, narrowing the gap to 14-10, thanks to pivotal plays from Saran and
Lucia Barroso. Despite a late rally featuring a service ace and kills by McCluskey and Saran, the set ended with the Mustangs maintaining their lead, 25-19.
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After another early lead for the Mustangs, 8-3, UC San Diego made a significant push midway through the third set. The Tritons narrowed the gap with a series of kills by McNees, who delivered three consecutive points to bring the score to 8-7. Despite this effort, Cal Poly responded with strong play to maintain its lead, 19-12. UC San Diego's McCluskey contributed late-set points, but the Mustangs ultimately secured the set with a decisive 25-16 finish.
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The Tritons made several attempts to shift momentum in the fourth set, starting with a kill by McCluskey assisted by Rome, keeping the score tight early on, 4-3. Cal Poly continued to pull away but a kill by
Katie Rapp and a block by Rapp and Saran kept the Mustangs within reach 11-9. Despite these efforts, Cal Poly capitalized on several attack errors by UC San Diego, widening the lead to 15-9. The Mustangs outscored the Tritons 8-1 down the stretch and closed out the contest 25-14.
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TRITON TIDBITS
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UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up their home schedule with three straight in LionTree Arena beginning next Friday against UC Riverside at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
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Article partially generated with FanWord.
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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.
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