LAS CRUCES, N.M.—UC San Diego women's volleyball dropped another five-set battle, falling to New Mexico State, 3-2, on Friday evening in Pan American Center. The Tritons (2-5) outblocked the Aggies (5-4) by a 14-5 margin and hit .244, but NMSU held a 68-64 edge in kills, taking the match by set scores of 26-24, 20-25, 25-20, 23-25, 11-15.
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Molly McCluskey led the Tritons with 22 kills and 25 points, hitting .357 while adding 13 digs and six total blocks.
Gia Rivera finished with a career-high 20 kills, 22 points and four total blocks.
Ireland McNees also finished in double figures with 14 kills.
Marleena Catalan recorded a career-best 49 assists and added 14 digs for her second consecutive double-double.
Kaliya Ndiaye posted a match-high 10 total blocks in her first collegiate start and
Paulina Baillie collected a match-high 16 digs.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
New Mexico State built up a three-point advantage early in the opening set, before extending its lead 16-10 at the midpoint. The Tritons erased a late 21-18 deficit and moved in front 23-22 on McNees' service ace. After the Aggies tied the set at 24-24, Rivera answered with a kill, then teamed with Ndiaye on the block that closed the Tritons' 26-24 first-set win.
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The second set saw 11 ties and nine lead changes before the Aggies created distance with a four-point scoring run to lead 20-17. The Tritons stayed within reach late, getting a Rivera kill to move to 20-21, but the Aggies scored the final four points to take the set 25-20.Â
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The Tritons built their cushion early in the third set, scoring four straight points on McNees' serve to move ahead 8-2. New Mexico State later closed the gap to 20-18, but the Tritons answered with a Rivera kill and a Ndiaye/McCluskey block to regain control. McCluskey closed the set with a kill from Catalan, giving the Tritons a 25-20 set win.
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UC San Diego built another early lead to begin the fourth set, jumping in front, 6-2, behind a pair of kills from both McNees and McCluskey. The Aggies then put together a 10-1 scoring run to take the lead. The Tritons worked back from a 17-8 deficit, using points at the net and a
Dillyn Griffin service ace to cut the Aggies' lead to 21-20. After NMSU moved ahead 24-21, Rivera answered with a kill and Ndiaye teamed with McCluskey on a block to make it 24-23, but the Aggies closed the set with a kill for a 25-23 finish to force a fifth set.
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The teams were even at 8-8 in the fifth set before NMSU scored five straight points to move ahead 13-8. McCluskey had five kills in the set, including two late points as the Tritons got back to 14-11, but the Aggies finished the set at 15-11.
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TRITON TIDBITS
- Molly McCluskey tallied her fifth double-double of the season and Marleena Catalan recorded her second.Â
- Freshman Gia Rivera recorded a career-high 20 kills and 22 points, her first 20-kill performance.
- It was the third consecutive five-set match of the season for the Tritons, who are now 0-3 in those matches.
- The point margin for those three matches combined is -1 point.
- UC San Diego is now 0-3 in the all-time series with New Mexico State.
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UP NEXT
The Tritons will travel to El Paso for the remaining two matches of the Borderland Classic, facing UTEP on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT. Live statistics will be available via UCSDTritons.com.
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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.
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