UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball fell to UC Santa Barbara, 3-1, on Friday evening in LionTree Arena. The Tritons (10-12, 6-5 Big West) took the opening set, 25-21, over the Gauchos (11-11, 7-4 Big West) but were limited to 21, 16 and 18 points over the final three sets while finishing with 47 kills and a .204 hitting percentage.
 
Molly McCluskey led the offense with 15 kills and 17 points, adding four block assists. Gia Rivera added 12 kills and Kylie Parker finished with nine kills and nine digs, with one service ace. Madison Johnson recorded seven total blocks, including one solo stop, and added five kills. Brynne McGhie finished with a team-high 22 assists, six digs, two kills and one ace. Marleena Catalan added 12 assists, a team-high 11 digs and one ace.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC San Diego pulled in front early in the opening set, building a 9-5 advantage with a four-point serving run from Paulina Baillie. The Gauchos responded midway through the set with a 4-0 run of their own to tie the set at 16-16. Rivera put the Tritons back in front with a kill, and McCluskey supplied multiple late kills, including the set-ending point, 25-21.
 
The Tritons opened the second set with Dillyn Griffin's ace and later built an 11-5 lead on Catalan's ace. The Gauchos erased the gap, tied the set at 12-12 and moved in front 13-12, forcing the Tritons to chase from there. UC San Diego got late kills from McCluskey and Parker to reach 23-21, but UCSB scored the final two points to take the set, 25-21.
 
The third set began with kills from Parker, Johnson and McCluskey during an early move to a 4-1 lead. The Gauchos answered to tie the set at 4-4, and after McGhie's kill brought the Tritons level at 8-8, the visitors created separation. Rivera and McCluskey added late kills for the Tritons, but Santa Barbara took the set, 25-16.
 
In the fourth frame, the Tritons' main response came after an 8-2 deficit, when they closed to 9-7 behind a Parker ace, a Rivera kill and block from Kaliya Ndiaye and Johnson. UC San Diego made another push from 20-13 to 21-18, with Lucia Barroso adding an ace and McGhie serving another. The Gauchos scored the final four points to take the set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Marleena Catalan recorded her eighth double-double of the season. 
• Kylie Parker made her first collegiate start in the contest.
• The Tritons are 5-7 in four-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 1-12 in the all-time series and 1-9 in Division I against UC Santa Barbara.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will host Big West-leader Cal Poly on Saturday at 5 p.m. 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.