LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women's volleyball will begin its 2026 campaign this weekend at the Gael Bear Classic hosted by Saint Mary's and Cal. 
 
The Tritons will face the Gaels to open the season on Friday at 7 p.m. in University Credit Union Pavilion (Moraga, Calif.). UC San Diego will then travel to Berkeley to take on the Bears on Saturday at 7 p.m. and remain in Haas Pavilion on Sunday for a neutral matchup against Gonzaga at 2 p.m.
 
Friday and Saturday's matches will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available for all matches via UCSDTritons.com.
 
DETAILS
Match 1
UC San Diego at Saint Mary's
Friday, Aug. 28 | 7 p.m.
University Credit Union Pavilion (3,500) | Moraga, Calif.
All-time series: 1-0
Division I series: First meeting 
Last meeting: UCSD 3, SMC 0 (Sept. 14, 1981)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 2
UC San Diego at California
Saturday, Aug. 29 | 7 p.m.
Haas Pavilion (11,877) | Berkeley, Calif.
All-time series: 1-2
Division I series: 1-1 
Last meeting: UCSD 3, CAL 2 (Aug. 27, 2022)(N)
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 3
UC San Diego vs Gonzaga (N)
Sunday, Aug. 30 | 2 p.m.
Haas Pavilion (11,877) | Berkeley, Calif.
All-time series: 2-0
Division I series: Same 
Last meeting: UCSD 3, GON 1 (Sept. 1, 2024)
Live Stats
 

ABOUT THE TRITONS

Roster | Schedule | 2025 Stats

2025 Overall: 6-24

2025 Big West: 4-14

2025 Home: 2-10

2025 Away: 4-9

2025 Neutral: 0-5

2025 vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0

2025 Streak: L5

 

ABOUT SAINT MARY'S	ABOUT CALIFORNIA	ABOUT GONZAGA
Roster | Schedule | Stats	Roster | Schedule | Stats	Roster | Schedule | Stats
2025 Overall: 11-18	2025 Overall: 9-21	2025 Overall: 14-15
2025 WCC: 9-9	2025 ACC: 6-14	2025 WCC: 7-11
2025 Home: 6-3	2025 Home: 6-8	2025 Home: 6-7
2025 Away: 4-11	2025 Away: 3-10	2025 Away: 5-7
2025 Neutral: 1-4	2025 Neutral: 0-3	2025 Neutral: 3-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-2	vs. Ranked Opponents: 1-9	vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
2025 Streak: L2	2025 Streak: W2	2025 Streak: L3

 
McLACHLIN LEADS TRITONS INTO NEW ERA
UC San Diego women's volleyball will begin a brand-new era in 2026 under the direction of first-year head coach Spencer McLachlin. The Tritons will welcome 10 newcomers to their roster, including five transfers and five first-year Tritons. UC San Diego will return eight Tritons from its 2025 squad, including Big West Honorable Mention Molly McCluskey who led the conference in total points and kills last season. The 2026 season will mark UC San Diego's final in The Big West before the program transitions to the West Coast Conference prior to the 2027 campaign.
 
MOLLY McCLUSKEY NAMED TO PRESEASON TEAM
Junior opposite Molly McCluskey was selected as a member of the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches' Team after earning All-Big West Honorable Mention last season. In 2025, McCluskey finished first in the Big West in total points (449.0) and total kills (392) for the regular season. She also ranked fourth in total attacks (1,033) and fifth in kills per set (3.41). The Costa Mesa native led the Tritons in points, kills and service aces (27), finishing second in blocks (55.0) and third in digs (244).
 
TRITON RETURNERS
UC San Diego returns three starters from a season ago, including senior Ireland McNees (outside hitter) and juniors Paulina Baillie (libero) and Molly McCluskey (opposite). The Tritons will also benefit from the experience of Maija Nepszy (setter), Madison Johnson (middle) and Lucia Barroso (middle) who each played significant roles for UC San Diego last season. The senior class includes Marleena Catalan, Katelyn Hernandez and Ireland McNees.
 
FRESH FACES
UC San Diego women's volleyball will add 10 newcomers to its roster for the 2026 season. The Tritons will welcome five first-year scholar-athletes, including Soraya Dennis (Laguna Beach, Calif.), Kylie Parker (Burbank, Calif.), Gia Rivera (Redwood City, Calif.), Hayden Shanafelt (San Clemente, Calif.) and Ahnika Smith (Manhattan Beach, Calif.). 
 
Transfers Yasemin Elmas (Istanbul, Turkey), Dillyn Griffin (Foothill Ranch, Calif.), Jaedyn Houston (Newport Beach, Calif.), Brynne McGhie (Kansas City, Mo.) and Kaliya Ndiaye (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) join UC San Diego after competing for Seattle U, Pitt, Long Beach State, Pepperdine and Syracuse, respectively.
 
McLACHLIN PREVIEWS THE UPCOMING SEASON
Hear from the first-year head coach Spencer McLachlin who sat down with The Big West to preview the upcoming season.
 

 
ROAD WARRIORS
UC San Diego will play its entire non-conference slate on the road, traveling for 11 matches spread across four tournaments before Big West play begins at home Sept. 25. The Tritons will begin in the Bay Area with the Gael Bear Classic, hosted by Saint Mary's and Cal (Aug. 28-30). UC San Diego will then travel to Coach McLachlin's hometown for the Outrigger Invitational hosted at former Big West foe Hawai'i (Sept. 3-6). The Borderland Classic will be hosted by New Mexico State and UTEP (Sept. 11-13) and the non-conference schedule will wrap up in Las Vegas with The Rebel Challenge hosted at UNLV (Sept. 19-20).
 
TRITONS PICKED TO FINISH EIGHTH
In their final year as a member of the Big West, the Tritons were picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll with 60 points. Cal Poly led the group with 121 points and 11 of the 12 first-place votes in the Big West's newly formatted 12-team conference. 
 
Long Beach State ranked second with 109 points and UC Santa Barbara rounded out the top three with 99 points. Big West newcomers Utah Valley (84 points) and Sacramento State (80) were picked to finish fourth and fifth respectively, with UVU receiving the remaining first-place vote. CSUN and UC Irvine tied for sixth with 64 points each, followed by the Tritons, newcomer California Baptist (35), UC Riverside (34), Cal State Fullerton (24) and Cal State Bakersfield (18).
 
McLACHLIN NAMED EIGHTH HEAD COACH IN PROGRAM HISTORY
On December 23, 2025, UC San Diego Director of Athletics Andy Fee named Spencer McLachlin the new women's volleyball head coach. McLachlin becomes the eighth head coach in program history. 
 
McLachlin recently completed his third season as an associate head coach for the USC women's volleyball program. In 2025, he helped lead the Women of Troy to 25 wins, a fourth-place finish in the ultra-competitive Big Ten, and their fourth-consecutive NCAA second round appearance. 
 
Previously, McLachlin served as the associate head coach at Indiana (2022) and was an assistant coach for the UCLA men's volleyball program for four years (2018-2021). He has also had experience coaching at the international level with the U.S. men's national team where he was on staffs for squads which competed in the Pan American Cup and NORCECA Champions cup. Additionally, McLachlin had stints as an assistant coach at California (2016-2017) and Hawai'i men's volleyball (2015), earning him recognition on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Thirty Under 30 list in 2017. 
 
McLachlin competed as a student-athlete at Stanford (2008-11) as an outside hitter, where he won a national championship with the Cardinal in 2010. He graduated from Stanford with a degree in political science in 2011 and completed a Master of Education in 2012 while serving as a club coach for the Bay-to-Bay Volleyball Club.
 
As a professional athlete, McLachlin was an outside hitter for Mas NIKI Aiginio in Greece for three years from 2012 to 2014. McLachlin and his wife Diane have three children: daughters Leila and Malia, and a son, Koa.
 
NEW STAFF FOR TRITONS
McLachlin completed his coaching staff for the 2026 season with the addition of associate head coach Jimmy Lundgren, assistant coaches Casey Schoenlein and Kat Chen and technical coordinator Frank Pham. Lundgren joins the Tritons after stints at California Baptist (2025) and the University of San Diego (2018-2024). Schoenlein also comes to La Jolla from USD, spending three seasons with the Toreros (2023-2025). Chen served on the staff at UC Santa Barbara (2024-2026) and was also an assistant coach and manager for the Australian Senior Women's National Team (2023-24), bringing a wealth of international knowledge to the Tritons' staff. Pham is a 2026 graduate of Cal Poly, having served as technical coordinator for the Big West champions (2022-2026) throughout his undergrad and also serves as assistant performance analyst for the U.S. Men's National Team. 
 
UC SAN DIEGO HEADED TO THE WCC
On Sept. 3, 2025, UC San Diego accepted a formal invitation to join the West Coast Conference (WCC) beginning July 1, 2027. UC San Diego will compete in 14 of the West Coast Conference's 16 sponsored sports, including men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, men's and women's cross country, men's water polo, baseball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's golf and women's rowing. The university remains committed to finding a conference affiliation for its sports that will not compete in the West Coast Conference.
 
Beginning in 2027-28, the WCC membership will consist of: University of California San Diego, Loyola Marymount University, University of the Pacific, Pepperdine University, University of Portland, Saint Mary's College, University of San Diego, University of San Francisco, Santa Clara University, and Seattle University. UC San Diego will become the first public institution in the West Coast Conference since the departure of the University of Nevada-Reno in 1979.
 
ANDY FEE NAMED ATHLETIC DIRECTOR AT UC SAN DIEGO 
On Sept. 10, 2025, UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla announced the hiring of college sports veteran Andy Fee as the Tritons' new Director of Athletics. Fee will become just the fourth Director of Athletics at UC San Diego since 1966. Fee joins the Tritons after spending the 2024-25 season as Deputy AD at Seattle University. Prior to Seattle U, Fee spent two years at Washington as Deputy AD and Chief of Staff. 
 
Before relocating to Seattle, Fee spent five years as Director of Athletics at Long Beach State from 2017 to 2022. During this time, Long Beach State's athletic programs found great success as the school advanced to the postseason in 18 of its 19 sports programs in his five-year tenure. The Beach won a pair of national championships in men's volleyball and claimed The Big West Commissioner's Cup three times. 
 
No stranger to conference transition, Fee will help guide the Tritons into the West Coast Conference in 2027-28. He also helped guide Washington into the Big Ten and Seattle U into the WCC in July.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men's and women's basketball games, men's and women's soccer matches, men's and women's volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego women's volleyball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
GAME DAY GOES DIGITAL
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit UCSDTritons.com from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to LionTree Arena for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch on ESPN+.
 
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at LionTree Arena must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours prior to the game. Following the conclusion of each home game, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X and Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdwvb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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.