UC San Diego women’s volleyball (3-11, 1-1 Big West) came into the matchup against Cal State Fullerton (6-7, 1-0 Big West) on Friday, Sept. 26, hungry for a win to open Big West play, only to fall 3-0 to the Titans. In spite of the difficult season the Tritons have had so far — putting up eight losses in 10 games — the energy in LionTree Arena never faltered. The crowd, 1,458 strong and decked out in Block Party giveaway shirts, cheered for its team ferociously.
“It’s always good to be back home with a nice crowd,” assistant coach Rafael Asvolinsque said in a postgame interview with The UCSD Guardian. “We wish we could have performed a little better for them, but we were very excited to have them with us.”
The Titans opened the scoring, but UCSD kept it close in the beginning of the first set, with junior outside hitter Ireland McNees levelling the score at 7-7. After the Tritons fell behind 15-9, they retaliated with a 5-point run powered by a pair of aces from sophomore outside hitter Molly McCluskey. The teams fought back and forth, but the Titans gained the edge with a series of kills. The set concluded with Fullerton taking advantage of a Triton attack error, ultimately winning the set 25-21.
The Tritons held an early 6-3 advantage in the second set. Fullerton soon gained a lead off a Triton service error and an out-of-play ball, but the Tritons rallied to turn the tide. A succession of kills by McCluskey and strong defensive efforts led to a 5-point run, bringing the score to 17-15. However, Fullerton edged back into the lead, capitalizing on Triton errors to a 21-19 advantage. UCSD rallied late, but it wasn’t enough. Fullerton maintained its lead and closed the set 25-23.
The third set saw more tight back-and-forth play. UCSD built a narrow 10-8 advantage, with key contributions made by McNees and freshman outside hitter Maria Fernanda Afonso, before the Titans retaliated with a series of kills to bring their lead to 16-13 midway through the set. McNees and Afonso combined to even the score at 22-22, demonstrating their solid blocking and capitalizing on Titan errors. Regardless of the strong Triton effort, the Titans scored consecutive kills, clinching the set 25-23.
Despite the disappointing loss — the Tritons are now 1-5 in three-set games this season — some players stood out. McNees recorded a season-high of 19 kills throughout the match.
Asvolinsque remains confident that the team can turn the season around. “Now, it’s a matter of being not just sometimers but all-the-timers,” he said.
The Tritons earned their first conference win in a four-set victory at UC Irvine the following day. UCSD will return to LionTree Arena for a face-off against Cal Poly on Friday, Oct. 3.
