UC San Diego Women’s Volleyball Completes Sweep of cal Poly
SAN LUIS OBISPO,Calif. – The UC San Diego Tritons defeated the Cal poly Mustangs in straight sets (25-23, 26-24, 25-15) on Friday night, continuing their strong start to the NCAA Division I season. The Tritons showcased a balanced attack and resilient defense throughout the match.
The first set saw a back-and-forth battle,with UC San Diego initially establishing momentum through strong performances from Ava McCluskey and Frankie Afonso. Three kills from Afonso helped the Tritons build a 10-6 lead. Cal Poly responded with an 11-2 run to take a 19-15 advantage. However,UC San Diego rallied,fueled by a kill from McCluskey,a solo block by Afonso,and an ace from Kayla Uhlick,pulling within one at 19-18. Back-to-back kills by McCluskey and two Cal Poly hitting errors gave the Tritons set point at 24-21, and they ultimately closed out the set 25-23 after a final Cal Poly rally.
Set two mirrored the first in competitiveness. after Cal Poly took an early 7-4 lead,the Tritons fought back with a kill from McCluskey and an ace from Paulina Baillie to tie the score at 8-8. The teams traded points until the Mustangs created a 19-16 lead. UC San Diego responded again, tying the set at 21-all following a kill and solo block from Naz Sahran. Despite Cal Poly leading 23-22, the Tritons outscored them 4-1 to secure the set 26-24.
UC San Diego carried their momentum into the third and final set,jumping out to a 6-1 lead. Cal Poly narrowed the gap to 9-7, but the Tritons quickly regained control. Afonso and McCluskey continued to deliver crucial points,extending the lead to 14-9. A six-point scoring run, featuring consecutive blocks by Sahran and three straight kills by ireland McNees, put the set out of reach at 20-11. The Tritons maintained their advantage and finished the set 25-15 with a final kill from afonso, assisted by setter Lily Rome, completing the sweep.
The Tritons will next host UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 6 p.m. in liontree Arena. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ with live statistics available at UCSDTritons.com.
UC San Diego is in its third year as a member of the Big West Conference in NCAA Division I, after two decades of success in NCAA Division II, where they earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships. The program has guided over 1,400 scholar-athletes to all-america honors and boasts an average graduation rate of 91 percent.
