UC San Diego

OREM, Utah—UC San Diego women's volleyball swept Utah Valley in straight sets 30-28, 25-23, 25-21 on Thursday evening at Lockhart Arena. The Tritons (11-13, 7-6 Big West) finished with 55 kills and a .298 hitting percentage, while the Wolverines (8-17, 6-7 Big West) had 44 kills and hit .224.
 
Molly McCluskey led the Tritons with 18 kills while hitting .500 and finished with 19.0 points. Gia Rivera added 16 kills and 17.0 points, while local product Ireland McNees finished with 10 kills, six digs and two blocks. Brynne McGhie recorded a career-best 39 assists, adding 10 digs and one service ace. Paulina Baillie collected a team-high 16 digs and added two aces. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons built an early 10-2 advantage to begin the opening set behind key kills from McNees and Madison Johnson. UVU cut the deficit in half at 12-8 and continued to chip away at UC San Diego's lead. The Wolverines used a four-point scoring run to pull in front for the first time, 22-21. The teams traded the advantage late in the contest before the Tritons took four of the final five points and closed out the set, 30-28, with a kill from McNees. 
 
In the second set, UC San Diego rallied from a 17-13 deficit with a 6-0 run, getting four Rivera kills and a Baillie service ace to move ahead 19-17. After the Wolverines pulled within 24-23, the Tritons closed the set 25-23 on a UVU attack error.
 
The Tritons turned the third set with a 12-point run on McGhie's serve, moving from a 7-4 deficit to a 16-7 lead. The stretch included a McGhie ace, four McCluskey kills and swings from Lucia Barroso and Rivera. The Wolverines cut into the margin later, but McCluskey put the Tritons at set point. McGhie finished the 25-21 set with a free-ball kill to end a wild match point rally.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Brynne McGhie recorded her fourth double-double of the season and a career high 39 assists.
• The Tritons are 5-1 in three-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 2-0 in the all-time series with Utah Valley, winning all six sets against the Wolverines this season.

 
UP NEXT
UC San Diego will face Sacramento State on Saturday at 1 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.