UC San Diego

LAS VEGAS—UC San Diego women's volleyball dropped a 3-2 decision at UNLV on Sunday afternoon to finish up the Rebel Challenge. The Tritons (4-7) collected 61 kills with a .221 hitting percentage, while the Rebels (4-7) had 64 kills and hit .236. It was the fourth five-setter of the season for the Tritons, with set scores of 25-18, 18-25, 24-26, 25-23, 12-15.
 
Molly McCluskey led the Tritons with 18 kills and 22.0 points, adding 13 digs, two aces and four blocks. Ireland McNees finished with 17 kills, 18.5 points and nine digs. Paulina Baillie collected a team-high 16 digs and added two service aces. Marleena Catalan recorded a team-best 26 assists to go with 10 digs and one ace.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind early, 8-4, the Tritons tallied four straight points to pull even in set one. The teams remained close before UC San Diego closed the first set by scoring the final eight points, turning an 18-17 deficit into a 25-18 win. McCluskey tied it at 18 with a kill, then Dillyn Griffin served the final seven points as Kaliya Ndiaye added back-to-back kills and McCluskey finished the set with a kill from Griffin. 
 
In the second set, the Tritons stayed within a point early, getting kills from McNees, McCluskey and Katelyn Hernandez, but the Rebels scored four straight to move ahead 11-6. The Tritons later answered a 19-12 deficit with three consecutive kills, two by McCluskey around one from Ndiaye, to cut the set to 19-15. The Rebels closed out the set 25-18.
 
The teams traded a two point swing for the entire third set, battling to extra points. The Tritons answered a 23-21 Rebels lead with an opponent attack error and a McNees kill from Catalan to tie it at 23. After the Rebels went ahead 24-23, Catalan put down a kill from Griffin to make it 24-24, but the Rebels scored the final two points on Tritons attack errors to take the set 26-24.
 
UC San Diego moved ahead 7-4 on a Madison Johnson kill from Brynne McGhie early in the fourth set. The Tritons later pushed the set to 23-19 before the Rebels tied the fourth set at 23-23. UC San Diego earned set point on a Rebels attack error before McNees finished the 25-23 set with a kill from Catalan. 
 
The Tritons erased a 7-3 deficit in the fifth set, getting a Hernandez kill, a Rebels attack error and Catalan's service ace to move ahead 11-10. McCluskey later put the Tritons back in front 12-11 with a kill from McNees, but the Rebels scored the final four points to take the set 15-12.
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Molly McCluskey and Paulina Baillie were named to the Rebel Challenge All-Tournament Team.
• Molly McCluskey recorded her seventh double-double of the season and Marleena Catalan tallied her third. 
• The Tritons are 0-4 in five-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 1-4 in the all-time series and 0-2 in Division I against UNLV.

 
UP NEXT
After 11 matches on the road, UC San Diego will begin its Big West schedule in LionTree Arena next week. The Tritons will play host to Cal State Fullerton in their home opener on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. with the Welcome Back Block Party. The first 750 students will receive a free t-shirt. On Saturday, the Tritons will face Long Beach State for Youth Day at 5 p.m. with foam fingers for the first 100 kids (12 & under) and postgame autographs with the team. Both matches 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.