UC San Diego women’s volleyball (12–9, 6–4 Big West) took on UC Santa Barbara (10–12, 6–4 Big West) at LionTree Arena on Thursday evening, hoping to improve their 0–6 all-time record against the Gauchos. However, the Tritons fell in four sets (25–22, 19–25, 25–21, 25–16), giving up the four-game winning streak they had forged before this match.
The Tritons hosted Dig Pink Night on Thursday, giving away pink bandanas to fans in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The match pitted the No. 6 and No. 7 placed teams in the Big West — UCSD and UCSB — against each other. Bolstered by recent wins against UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton, the Tritons had the momentum to take on the Gauchos.
UCSD’s opening serve ended with the Gauchos scoring the first kill. A trio of Triton points quickly followed, putting them on the scoreboard. The first set was a game of cat and mouse early on, with neither side able to build a sizable lead.
Freshman defensive specialist Paulina Baillie, who was honored as the Big West’s Defensive Player of the Week in September, dug deep to deny the Gauchos points. Her efforts formed the backbone of the Triton defense, but they weren’t enough for UCSD to come out on top. The first set ultimately went to UCSB with a final score of 25–22.
Disciplined blocks and competitive kills defined UCSD’s game in the second set. The Tritons forged an early lead by scoring the first 2 points, setting an optimistic tone for the fans lining the stands decked out in pink.
The set continued to be neck and neck, with both teams trading off 1 or 2-point leads. Senior outside hitter Ava McInnes’ 5 kills in the second set alone leveled the playing field at 12–12, but UCSB’s strong defense and a few Triton slip-ups gave the Gauchos an edge.
By the time UCSD called a timeout, the Tritons were down 15–13.
“We got on them and let them know they had to turn it on. They came out of that timeout, and they were locked in and going hard,” Head Coach Melanie Greene said in a post-game interview with The UCSD Guardian. “They have to find a way to bring that same confidence and same grit no matter if a coach is telling them that or not.”
UCSD returned from the timeout with an offensive surge that turned the tides in the Tritons’ favor for the rest of the set.
Junior middle blocker Jasmine Saran and freshman setter Audrey Hollis spearheaded UCSD’s attacks. Together, the pair put on a show, with Saran leading the Tritons in kills and Hollis in assists for the rest of the night. Their efforts peaked with a 0.313 hitting percentage, UCSD’s highest of the match.
Graduate student outside hitter Kylie Pries came through with a disciplined block to put the Tritons in the lead again, 18–17. The rallies intensified as UCSD shut down the court, only allowing the Gauchos one more point for the rest of the second set.
UCSD’s late-set push paid off — the Gauchos stalled at 19 points as the Tritons racked up points to overtake them. The gap grew as UCSD raced to match point, and the Tritons came out of the second set victorious against UCSB with a score of 25–19.
However, the Tritons’ second set success didn’t carry over to the rest of the game. From the first serve of the third set, UCSB took the lead and turned up the heat.
Serving errors haunted the Tritons throughout the last two sets; their chances of breaking their losing streak against the Gauchos slipped away. UCSD struggled to score against UCSB’s defense, which put up 14 blocks to their 9.
“Even when they’re in our house, they’ve always been notorious,” Greene said. “They just put the pressure on.”
The Gauchos eventually peaked at a 5-point lead, leaving behind the narrow, back-and-forth play that was characteristic of the first set.
UCSD fought hard, with Baillie making an impressive save by diving off the court to keep the ball alive. Her move put the Tritons back in contact to build a tight, 1-point lead, just before the score spiraled out of control again when UCSD fumbled the next 2 points with serving errors. The Tritons could not hold out, and the Gauchos won the third set, with the final score at 25–21.
The Gauchos continued to plow through UCSD’s defense in the fourth set. The game turned against the Tritons’ favor for good.
The Gauchos ended UCSD’s hopes in the fourth set, taking it 25–16. It was the largest set loss of the night. The 3–1 defeat erased the Tritons’ four-game win streak.
“For us it was about coming up strong and putting the gas pedal on, which we didn’t do. That’s going to be our goal going into Cal Poly,” Greene said. “We gotta be ready to play and be hungry and put it all out there.”
The Tritons did just that against Cal Poly on Saturday, triumphing over the Mustangs 4–1, with set scores 25–23, 16–25, 25–21, 25–19. UCSD will be back in action against current conference leader UC Davis (13–5, 8–1 Big West) at LionTree Arena next Friday, Nov. 1.
