UC San Diego

LA JOLLA, Calif.–UC San Diego women's volleyball took on Long Beach State on Saturday evening in LionTree Arena. LBSU won in four sets, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-22. The Tritons (5-8, 1-1 Big West) collected 55 kills with a .188 hitting percentage, to the Beach's (10-2, 2-0 Big West) 48 with a .186 hitting percentage. In matches decided in four sets, UC San Diego is 2-4.
 
Molly McCluskey led the Tritons with 16 kills, pairing nine digs and two blocks in her performance. Ireland McNees recorded a double-double with 15 kills and tied Paulina Baillie for the team lead with 14 digs. Gia River also finished in double figures with 13 kills. Marleena Catalan also finished with a double-double, tallying 26 assists, 10 digs and a team-best three aces. Lucia Barroso, Rivera, and Madison Johnson each recorded four blocks. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first set proved to be close early, a back-and-forth until 6-all. Long Beach went on a 4-point run to extend its lead to 10-6. A timeout by UC San Diego created a matched 4-0 run to even the score at 10. The back-and-forth continued to 13-13. Rivera's offense kept the Tritons near, scoring six kills in the set. Long Beach then proceeded to a 6-0 run to put the set out of reach, winning 25-19.
 
The second set began reminiscent of the first with even play early until the Beach took a commanding lead, 8-5. Kills by McCluskey kept the Tritons within reach. However, the frequent blocks by Long Beach—at this point they led 6.5 blocks to UC San Diego's none—called for a Triton timeout to curb the run at 11- 6. With help from McNees recording several kills, digs, and a block assist, the Tritons roared back. Back-to-back blocks by Johnson and Rivera evened the score at 17-17. Long Beach would then record two consecutive blocks, taking a 20-17 lead. UC San Diego overcame the deficit and earned their first lead of the set at 21-20. The Tritons continued their momentum, making it a 7-0 run to go ahead 24-20. A kill by Rivera claimed the set for the Tritons, 25-21. 
 
In the third set, the Tritons continued their momentum, taking an 8-3 lead via a five-point run. UC San Diego kept that lead until LBSU evened the bout at 16-16. The score stayed close, even once again at 19-19 and 23-23. It would be a 5-0 run by the Beach to win the set 25-23. Long Beach State took its first lead of the set at 24-23, and the 25th point was recorded by a Sidney Hamaker block. Hamaker led the match with 19 kills and 29.0 points. 
 
In the fourth set, the two sides went point for point, up until 11-all. The Beach went on a three-point run to lead 14-11. The teams traded points before another 3-0 run gave LBSU a 20-15 advantage. The Tritons responded with a three-point run of their own, sparked by a kill from Barroso to make it 21-19. UC San Diego stayed within two points down the stretch, but Long Beach won the final set 25-22. 
 
QUOTABLE
Today was true freshman Gia Rivera's 19th birthday. In the third set on a solo kill, her teammates on the bench sang her Happy Birthday. According to Coach McLachlin, the team sang for her pregame over the stadium speakers. When asked what playing on her birthday was like, Rivera said,  "It's awesome. The vibes are high, good energy, I love it. The team always brings the energy, so it's never any question there." Rivera played a critical role in the Triton's approach, recording 13 kills and 4 blocks. McLachlin on Rivera's performance: "I was proud of her. She's going to play a big role for us, and it will be a big learning curve for her–how quickly she can learn. She got blocked probably five times in the first set, and then she really turned it on, and that's what I was really proud of. We didn't roll over; we fought back and adjusted and learned. Really proud of her gutsy performance" 
 
The Tritons served quite well, recording seven aces, and their strong starts led to their successes in the second and third sets. When asked about the serves, McLachlin said, "Paulina served great, Marleena served great, Molly's serve got better as the match went on…To me, that was the difference in the match: when we served tough and got them out of system, we started to block the ball. But when we served it easy in, it was easy for them." 
 
Baillie's float serve had the Beach puzzled for much of the match. When asked about her float serve approach, she said, "It's pretty clean. I do the loose arm technique. I think that when you muscle up, there's more room for error; your hand contact on the ball will make the ball spin more."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Ireland McNees and Marleena Catalan both recorded their four double-doubles of the season.
• UC San Diego had the advantage in attacks (149-145), kills (55 to 48), and digs (59-52), whereas Long Beach State led in blocks (18.5 to 8.0)
• The Tritons are 2-4 in four-set matches this season.
• Long Beach State leads the head-to-head series with UC San Diego 12-0. 

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons will play their first Big West road matches, traveling to Riverside to face conference newcomer California Baptist on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. and taking on UC Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 4 p.m.  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.