On Tuesday, Nov. 18, UC San Diego women’s volleyball (6-24, 4-14 Big West) faced Long Beach State (20-8, 13-4 Big West) at LionTree Arena in its last home game of the season. Despite a tight first set, the Tritons ultimately fell to the Beach, 3-0.
The Senior Night loss was eerily reminiscent of last year’s Big West Championships, where the No. 5 seed UCSD flamed out against the No. 4 seed Beach 3-1 in the first round. This year, the Tritons finished with a 4-14 conference record — good for ninth place in the Big West standings — leaving them out of postseason contention.
Assistant coach Kara Barkdoll Coy served as acting head coach for the fifth straight game without head coach Melanie Greene.
UCSD, ranked eighth in Big West standings entering the contest, kept things neck and neck in the first set. Leading the charge was sophomore outside hitter Molly McCluskey, who accounted for six kills in the set — and led the team with 12 kills throughout the game.
Midway through the set, LBSU gained a comfortable 4-point lead, exploiting the home team’s inability to string together rallies and maintain possession of the ball. Down 21-17, the Tritons miraculously regained their footing; junior outside hitter Ireland McNees’ efforts — a kill, set, and ace — secured three consecutive UCSD points, resulting in a 21-20 score and an LBSU timeout.
However, things quickly went south for the Tritons after the break, as the Beach dominated every rally aside from one last McCluskey kill. UCSD dropped the first set 25-21.
LBSU fed off of a quick, relentless offense in the second set, gaining points with speed and power. The Tritons matched the Beach’s offensive versatility with reliable blocking and a vigilant defense, extending the length of rallies and capitalizing on their opponent’s eventual mistakes.
Senior middle blocker Jasmine Saran was a crucial piece in the Tritons’ defensive production, playing a role in four of their six blocks in the second set, while the Beach only had one. However, blocking ended up being the Tritons’ sole statistical advantage of the set, as LBSU quickly outpaced them with 18 kills to UCSD’s five.
Though, at one point, the two teams stood 9-9, the Beach rocketed off with the lead and iced the set 25-17. The Tritons had multiple opportunities to gain steam from LBSU’s attack errors, but with their .087 hitting percentage, they were unable to get the production they needed.
Unlike the first two sets, it didn’t take long for the Beach to take the lead in the third. The visiting team completely dominated the final stretch of the game, earning a staggering .522 hitting percentage, compared to UCSD’s lackluster .031. Additionally, the Tritons made numerous mistakes with minimal production, totaling seven attack errors to eight kills throughout the set. The Beach swept UCSD 25-11 in the third.
Still, the match concluded on a high note, with all three of UCSD’s seniors on the court for the final rally. Saran, senior defensive specialist Kayla Uhlick, and senior outside hitter Katie Rapp shuffled into position against the Beach, who had 24 points. The crowd cheered as the Tritons made their last stand, convincingly keeping up with the Beach until a wayward dig slingshotted the ball off the net and onto the Tritons’ court.
UCSD closed out the season with a 3-1 loss against Hawai’i on Friday, Nov. 21. The Tritons, out of postseason contention, will return to the court next August.
