UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball faced off against Sacramento State for the first time since 1988 in LionTree Arena on Friday night. The Hornets (8-8, 3-2 Big West) bested the Tritons (7-9, 3-2 Big West) in four sets, 25-23, 25-23, 15-25, 25-16. The Tritons recorded 55 kills with a .272 hitting percentage to Sacramento State's 52 kills with a hitting percentage of .223, as well as 64 digs to the Hornets' 51.
 
Gia Rivera led the Tritons with 18 kills, adding a block to her performance. Ireland McNees and Molly McCluskey each recorded double-doubles. McNees with 12 kills and 12 digs, McCluskey with 11 kills, 12 digs and six blocks. Lucia Barroso led the Tritons in blocks with McCluskey, recording six as well. On her Birthday, Paulina Baillie led the Tritons with 16 digs. Marleena Catalan led the Tritons with 21 assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set proved to be a battle of 3-0 runs. UC San Diego's runs came early, in large part to off-schedule attacks and Rivera kills. She would record five in the set. Where the Tritons led and went on runs, the Hornets kept it close, led by their leader in kills, Victoria Marthaler, who had 125 more kills than her closest teammate going into the match. She would record six in the set. UC San Diego's consistent lead of one to two points dwindled by the end of the set, as Sacramento State went on a 5-0 run that put them ahead 23-22, their first lead since the sixth point. Sacramento State won the set 25-23 on a kill from Marthaler.
 
The second set started with another 3-0 run by UC San Diego. Unlike the first set, the Hornets and Tritons were neck and neck for the first half of the set. They tied at every point between three and 13. Sacramento State then embarked on a 5-0 run, leading to a Triton timeout at 15-13, Hornets. Rivera did her best to curb Sac State's momentum, scoring back-to-back kills. The Hornets took their biggest lead of the set at 20-16, before the Tritons went on a 3-0 run to draw near, tying the set at 21. After a Sacramento State timeout, the Hornets took the lead 23-21, and won the set 25 to 23 on another Marthaler kill. 
 
The third set was UC San Diego's best, recording two different three-point runs to take a 10-6 lead, forcing Sac State to call a timeout. The Tritons added a 7-0 run to build their largest lead of the match at 14-6. The Hornets attempted to draw near, which was largely quelled by the efforts of McCluskey. UC San Diego kept the pressure on, winning the set 25-15 on a block from Barroso.
 
The fourth set began with a three-point run by Sacramento State and continued to a 7-3 lead. The Tritons fought back, making it a one-point contest between the 11th and 12th points. From that point forward, Sacramento State took a commanding lead, and despite two timeouts by UC San Diego, the Hornets finished strong with two different 3-0 runs, leading 22-14. Sacramento State won the match on a kill by Mia Molnar, 25-16.
 
QUOTABLE
The Tritons' first two sets were very close, but both went Sacramento State's way, with identical scores of 25-23. UC San Diego head coach Spencer McLachlin said, "I felt like we gave away the first set; three or four plays I can remember where we let routine balls fall; we let pop flies fall between two people. You can't do that in this league; it's a two-point league. We let those three fall; we lose by two."
 
Sacramento State had several strong aspects of their play that proved challenging for the Tritons. McLachlin mentioned their strength at serving and playing gritty volleyball. He mentioned that even though the Tritons out-dug the Hornets, it felt as though the points consistently went Sacramento State's way. McLachlin said, "They play really hard. I'm really looking forward to a rematch; they outworked us tonight."
 
The Tritons, down 2-0 played a very strong third set, in large part to a prolonged locker room speech. The speech proved pivotal. McLachlin said, "'You guys have to back the birthday girl; you gotta run through walls like she was.' They felt bad about it. It was a choice they made; I just showed the mirror to them. They were more mad at themselves for not having their teammates' backs."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The Tritons held the advantage in kills (55 to 52), hitting percentage (.272 to .223) and digs (64 to 51). Sacramento State led with nine service aces to the Tritons' four. The two sides were even in blocks, recording 10 apiece.
• This was the first-ever Division I matchup between UC San Diego and Sacramento State. This is the 10th overall meeting, the most recent on Sept. 8, 1988. Sacramento State leads the head-to-head record 8-2.
• The Tritons are 3-5 in four-set matches this season.
• Today was Paulina Baillie's birthday. She is the second Triton to play on her birthday this season. 

UP NEXT
The Tritons will face Utah Valley on Saturday at 5 p.m. in LionTree Arena. 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.