BOISE, Idaho — UC San Diego women's volleyball suffered its first sweep of the season, falling 18-25, 34-36, 14-25, to Boise State on Thursday evening in Bronco Gym. The Tritons (1-3) dropped their opening match of the Boise State Classic to the Broncos (4-0) in the first ever meeting between the programs.
 
Boise State recorded a .417 hitting percentage in the third set to secure the victory.
 
Molly McCluskey finished with nine kills, while also adding six digs and two blocks. Mika Rome recorded 15 assists, and splitting setting responsibilities with Maija Nepszy who recorded 14 assists. Paulina Baillie highlighted the defense with 15 digs, maintaining the backline's stability. Jasmine Saran added seven kills and two blocks, tallying 8.5 points in the match.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego opened the first set with a promising start, taking an early lead at 3-1 after Ireland McNees delivered a kill from Rome and a block by Saran and Maria Fernanda Afonso. However, the Broncos responded with a decisive 7-1 run, including a service ace and back-to-back kills to shift momentum and pull ahead. Despite a series of strong plays from the Tritons, including a kill by Saran at 21-13 and a rally sparked by Rome's assists, the Broncos maintained their advantage and closed the set at 25-18.
 
The second set began with UC San Diego taking an early lead, 6-2, sparked by a block by McCluskey and Madison Johnson to secure the first point. The Tritons maintained a slight edge, capitalizing on several Bronco errors. After Boise State knotted the set at 12-12, UC San Diego used a kill by Afonso and two from McCluskey to pull in front again, 21-16. The Broncos used a 6-1 scoring run to pull in front late, 24-23, earning the first set point. The set continued with tight exchanges, with six set points by the Broncos and four for the Tritons before Boise State eventually took the set 36-34.
 
Boise State carried the momentum into the final set, jumping out to an early 7-3 lead. Despite a determined effort from the Tritons, highlighted by Johnson's three kills, the Broncos maintained their lead throughout and secured the set 25-14 with consistent scoring for the sweep.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Boise State held the advantage in hitting percentage, .240, compared to .038 for the Tritons. The Broncos also had four aces compared to none for UC San Diego and recorded 13.0 blocks compared to 6.0.
• UC San Diego is 1-1 in three-set matches this season.
• It was the first meeting between the two programs.
• Starters included Paulina Baillie, Molly McCluskey, Ireland McNees, Mika Rome, Jasmine Saran and Kayla Uhlick.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will remain in Idaho for the Boise State Classic, taking on Oregon State on Friday at 12 p.m. PT. The match will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and live statistics will be available on UCSDTritons.com.
 
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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.