UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif. — UC San Diego women's volleyball swept Cal State Bakersfield, 25-21, 25-22, 25-17, on Friday evening in LionTree Arena in a pivotal Big West matchup with post-season implications. The Tritons (12-14, 8-7 Big West) held the Roadrunners (13-14, 8-7 Big West) to 22 kills and a .011 hitting percentage while finishing with 12 blocks and seven aces.
 
Gia Rivera led the Tritons with nine kills and 12.0 points, adding four block assists and a service ace. Lucia Barroso posted a team-high seven total blocks, with one solo block and six block assists, and added four kills. Brynne McGhie finished with 22 assists, six digs and two service aces. Paulina Baillie collected a team-high 13 digs and added a service ace.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The teams traded points for the first portion of the opening set before the Tritons broke the 14-14 tie with four straight points. UC San Diego moved ahead 18-14 on a Barroso kill, a Rivera ace and a block by Barroso and Molly McCluskey. After CSUB got back within 22-21, Rivera put down a kill and the Tritons took the final two points to finish the first set 25-21.
 
The Tritons erased a 13-8 deficit with six straight points on Ireland McNees' serve, getting kills from Madison Johnson and Rivera and a block by Yasemin Elmas and Johnson to move ahead 14-13. After the Roadrunners tied it at 22-22, the Tritons scored the final three points on a Johnson kill, a Rivera-Johnson block and a McNees ace to take the set 25-22.
 
UC San Diego scored the first four points of the third set, getting a Rivera kill from Marleena Catalan and a Baillie ace, and stayed in front throughout a 25-17 set win. McNees added three kills and a service ace in the set, and Rivera closed it with a kill from Catalan after the Roadrunners had cut the score to 22-16.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• UC San Diego recorded a 72.6 side out percentage, hitting .146 with 12.0 blocks and seven aces in an all-around dominating performance.
• The two teams combined for 30 service errors (18 for the Tritons and 12 for the Roadrunners), with seven service aces for UC San Diego compared to just one ace for CSUB.
• Molly McCluskey is now three kills away from recording her 1,000th career kill.
• Brynne McGhie is now 13 assists away from her 1,000th career assist.
• The Tritons are now 6-1 in three-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 25-17 in the all-time series and 7-4 in Division I against Cal State Bakersfield.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will wrap up their home schedule against CSUN on Saturday at 5 p.m. in LionTree Arena. Following the match, UC San Diego will honor its six graduating seniors Marleena Catalan, Yasemin Elmas, Dillyn Griffin, Katelyn Hernandez, Brynne McGhie and Ireland McNees. The contest 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.