UC San Diego

 LA JOLLA–UC San Diego women's volleyball kicked off the 2026 Big West schedule at home Friday night against Cal State Fullerton in victorious fashion, sweeping the Titans. The Tritons (5-7, 1-0 Big West) collected 40 kills with a .270 hitting percentage, to Fullerton's (5-9, 0-1 Big West) 34 kills with a .125 hitting percentage. It was UC San Diego's third sweep of the season, sets scored 25-13, 25-23, 25-18. 
 
Ireland McNees led the Tritons with 11 kills, rounding her performance out with an ace, five digs, and a solo block. It was an even approach from the Tritons, with Molly McCluskey and Madison Johnson both recording 10 kills. Paulina Baillie led UC San Diego with three aces and 14 digs. Marleena Catalan led with 15 assists and Dillyn Griffin adding 10 digs. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tritons took no time to get going, with a back-and-forth bout for the first few points, until UC San Diego took a lead and never let it go, winning the set 25-13. McNees gave UC San Diego a strong start, recording three kills out of the Tritons' first seven points. McCluskey got going mid set, recording four kills in quick succession to help with the first set rout. The Tritons seemingly won all aspects of the first set except one; during an extensive replay review, a dance battle took place between the Fullerton bench and the UC San Diego bench. Fullerton had the edge with a quality worm performance. Catalan sealed the set for UC San Diego with an ace. 
 
In the second set, Fullerton took a commanding lead with quality play. The Titans led early 7-2 on a 5-0 run, until the Tritons and the efforts of McCluskey kept the Tritons close. With her precise attacks and defensive efforts, UC San Diego evened the score at 13. Where McCluskey kept it close, Johnson had an excellent stretch in the mid-to-late set, recording five kills in rapid succession. Where the Tritons took a 16-13 lead, Fullerton proceeded to a 5-0 run, with their strongest position of the set at 21-18. The Tritons came back, and a bitter back-and-forth yielded an even score at 21, 22 and 23. It was there that McCluskey and McNees each had a solo block to score the 24th and 25th points of the set, Tritons winning 25-23.
 
In the third and final set, the Tritons took an early 5-0 lead and kept a strong position the entire set. The closest the Titans were able to get was 19-14 midway through. The Tritons prevailed with key kills by Johnson and blocks by Johnson and McCluskey. The Tritons would win the set 25-18, the final point on a kill from Johnson. 
 
QUOTABLE
The first home victory under head coach Spencer McLachlin was not only in sweeping fashion, but to a vivacious crowd. McLachlin said, "The environment was awesome." A strong turnout and a strong performance for the first-year head coach. But while the game went the Tritons way in the end, the second set proved wary of a runaway for Fullerton. "Fullerton did a great job. They outworked us in transition for the first half of the set; they did a really good job serving tough and putting us in awkward situations. I was really proud that our team didn't freak out. That happens a lot when you beat a team by that much in the first set; you assume it's gonna be easy, but it's not, and that's what I told them in the locker room. I said, 'Welcome to the Big West'. There's never going to be an easy match." 
 
Ireland McNees has two distinct attack strategies: her ferocious hard-driven spike and her timely tip shots. When asked which she prefers, McNees said, "I like hitting it really hard because the crowd goes crazier when I do that."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• The win marked the first Big West victory for head coach Spencer McLachlin and first win in LionTree Arena.
• UC San Diego had the advantage in aces (6-1) and digs (51-41), while Fullerton had the edge in blocks (6-4).
• The Tritons are 3-0 in three-set matches this season.
• UC San Diego is now 9-1 in the all-time series with Cal State Fullerton.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will play host to Long Beach State in LionTree Arena on Friday at 5 pm. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be avilable 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.