Road Trip Continues at Erie Insurance Invitational

LA JOLLA, Calif.—UC San Diego women’s volleyball will continue its east coast road trip at the Erie Insurance Invitational, hosted at James Madison.
 
The Tritons (5-1) take on the host JMU (2-3) on Thursday and face off with Western Michigan (3-2) in a neutral contest on Friday. Both matches are scheduled for 3 p.m. PT.
 
Thursday’s opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available for both matches via UCSDTritons.com.
 
DETAILS
Match 7
UC San Diego (5-1) at James Madison (2-3)
Thursday, Sept. 12 | 3 p.m. PT
Convocation Center (1,118) | Harrisonburg, Va.
All-time series: First meeting
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
 
Match 8
UC San Diego vs Western Michigan (3-2)(neutral)
Friday, Sept. 13 | 3 p.m. PT
Convocation Center (1,118) | Harrisonburg, Va.
All-time series: First meeting
Live Stats
 

 
LAST TIME OUT
The Tritons went 2-1 at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational—hosted at Navy—defeating the host (3-0) on Friday and taking down Cornell (3-1) in the Sunday finale. UC San Diego dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Liberty on Saturday.
 
Molly McCluskey earned her second consecutive Big West Freshman of the Week nod and was named to the all-tournament team along with Emily McDaniel and Jasmine Saran. Saran was named tournament MVP and UCU Athlete of the Week.
 
UC San Diego 3, Navy 0
Set scores: 25-18, 25-19, 25-18
Top performers: McInnes (12 kills, 9 digs); McCluskey (10 kills, 6 digs, 4 blocks); Pries (8 kills); Karacaova (3 aces); Brooker (37 assists, 2 aces); Saran (4 blocks); Baillie (12 digs)
Notables: The Tritons recorded their best hitting percentage of the season (.373).
 
UC San Diego 2, Liberty 3
Set scores: 25-21, 21-25, 20-25, 25-22, 10-15
Top performers: McCluskey (18 kills, 5 digs, 2 aces); McInnes (13 kills, 6 digs); Saran (12 kills, 5 blocks); McDaniel (4 blocks); Brooker (23 assists); Hollis (17 assists); Baillie (19 digs)
Notables: McCluskey recorded career highs in kills and points (21); Graduate transfer Sinead Beaupain made her Triton debut in the contest.
 
UC San Diego 3, Cornell 1
Set scores: 25-18, 25-22, 17-25, 25-22
Top performers: McCluskey (16 kills, 9 digs); McInnes (12 kills, 13 digs, 3 ace, 2 blocks); McDaniel (11 kills); Saran (3 blocks); Karacaova (4 aces); Hollis (44 assists); Baillie (10 digs)
Notables: Karacaova currently leads the team with nine aces, eight of which she recorded over the weekend.
 
McCLUSKEY EARNS BACK-TO-BACK WEEKLY HONORS (SEPT. 9)
For the second straight week, Molly McCluskey was named Big West Freshman of the Week. The freshman opposite earned a spot on the all-tournament team at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, hosted by Navy. It was her second all-tournament recognition in as many weeks. McCluskey paced the Tritons with 4.29 points and 3.67 kills per set, adding 1.67 digs per set. She totaled 51.5 points and 44 kills, with 20 digs, six blocks and four aces in 12 sets. 
 
FRESHMAN DUO EARN BIG WEST HONORS (SEPT. 2)
After helping the Tritons go 3-0 at the UC San Diego Invitational, libero Paulina Baillie was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week and opposite Molly McCluskey earned Freshman of the Week. The pair were also recognized on the all-tournament team, with McCluskey earning tournament MVP. 
 
Baillie averaged 4.75 digs per set—which led the Big West in the opening weekend—capping the weekend with a 23-dig performance against Gonzaga. McCluskey averaged 3.42 kills, 1.75 digs and 4.13 points per set, leading the Tritons offensively in all three matches. She posted back-to-back 14-kill marks against NAU and SUU and finished the weekend with 13 kills against the Bulldogs.
 
TOP OF THE BIG WEST
The Tritons currently hold the best record in the Big West at 5-1 (.833) after the first two weeks of competition. Defending Big West champions Hawai’i are just behind them at 4-1 (.800). UC San Diego ranks first in the conference in hitting percentage (.255) and second in opponent hitting percentage (.161), opponent kills (10.75 per set), services aces (1.79 per set) and third in blocks (2.25 per set).
 
 
Freshman opposite Molly McCluskey ranks fourth in points (4.21 per set) and sixth in kills (3.54 per set), while Ava McInnes ranks 16th (2.70 kills per set). Middles Jasmine Saran (.385) and Emily McDaniel (.383) rank second and third respectively in hitting percentage. Saran (1.00 per set) and McDaniel (0.96) also rank seventh and ninth respectively in blocks.
 
Lauren Brooker ranks fourth in assists (9.88 per set) and fourth in aces (0.50 per set), while Sabire Karacaova ranks ninth in aces per set (0.38) and fifth in total aces (9). Libero Paulina Baillie ranks fourth in the conference in digs per set (4.08). 
 
NEW TRITONS, NEW ERA
A new era begins in 2024 for UC San Diego women’s volleyball with first-year head coach Melanie Greene. She will also welcome 10 newcomers to La Jolla, including three transfers and seven first-year Tritons. They will join 10 returning Tritons from a squad that finished fifth in the Big West last season, which would have qualified the Tritons for the inaugural Big West Championship had the department been eligible for postseason competition. With the NCAA’s four-year reclassification period complete, all of UC San Diego’s programs will be eligible for both Big West and NCAA postseason competition in 2024-25.
 
McINNES NAMED TO PRESEASON TEAM
Senior outside hitter Ava McInnes was named to the Big West Women’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Team. McInnes led the Big West offensively for a majority of the season in 2023, finishing second in both kills (3.69 per set) and points (4.39 per set). The Tustin, Calif. native moved into the UC San Diego record books, ranking fourth all-time in career kills (1,201) and second in attack attempts (3,468). McInnes finished the season with 373 kills, hitting .253 on the season which ranked 16th in the Big West. She finished second on the team with 31 aces and tied for 11th in the conference in service aces per set (0.31).
 
TRITON RETURNERS FEATURE FOUR ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES
The Tritons will return 10 scholar-athletes from a season ago, highlighted by All-Big West First-Teamer, Ava McInnes. UC San Diego also returns a pair of All-Big West Honorable Mentions in Emily McDaniel and Jasmine Saran, as well as Big West All-Freshman Team member, Lauren Brooker. The senior class includes McInnes, McDaniel, Sabire Karacaova and Izabella Santa Cruz.
 
FRESH FACES
UC San Diego women’s volleyball will add 10 newcomers to its roster for the 2024 season. The Tritons will welcome seven first-year scholar-athletes, including Lucia Barroso (Templeton), Paulina Baillie (Carlsbad), Katelyn Hernandez (Chula Vista), Audrey Hollis (Colorado Springs), Madison Johnson (Temecula), Molly McCluskey (Costa Mesa) and Valentina Meirelles (São Paulo, Brazil). 
 
Transfers Sinead Beaupain (San Francisco), Kylie Pries (San Juan Capistrano) and Kailee Wakatake (Honolulu) join UC San Diego after competing for UC Santa Cruz, University of San Diego and Taft College, respectively.
 
McINNES CHASING RECORDS
In her fourth season of competition, senior Ava McInnes has 1,263 career kills and 3,666 attack attempts. She recorded her career 1,000th career kill on Sept. 23, 2023 against Cal Poly and her 3,000th attack attempt on Oct. 6, 2023 at CSUN. McInnes moved into third all-time in career kills in the opening weekend of competition. She ranks second all-time in attack attempts.
 

 
TRITONS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH
UC San Diego women’s volleyball was picked to finish fifth in the Big West Preseason Coaches’ Poll, as decided by the conference’s 11 head coaches. Cal Poly was picked to finish first in with 94 points and five first-place votes, followed by Hawai’i (85 points, 3 first-place votes) and Long Beach State (83 points, 2 first-place votes) rounding out the top three. 
 
UC Santa Barbara picked up the final first-place vote with 75 points to rank fourth, followed by UC San Diego (63 points), UC Irvine (60), UC Davis (49), Cal State Bakersfield (35), CSUN (21) and Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside tied in 10th (20 points).
 
GREENE NAMED SEVENTH HEAD COACH IN PROGRAM HISTORY
On March 20, 2024, UC San Diego Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards named Melanie Greene the new women’s volleyball head coach. Greene became the seventh head coach in UC San Diego women’s volleyball history. A native of San Diego, Greene brings a wealth of Division I experience, most recently as associate head coach at San Diego State. She was involved in the Aztecs’ program—both as a coach and as a scholar-athlete—since 2004. 
 
A three-year letterwinner for the Aztecs, Greene came to San Diego State in 2004 after two years at Washington State where she redshirted during her freshman year. A three-year starter as an outside hitter, she averaged 3.46 kills and 2.73 digs per set while leading the team in kills and finishing among the top three in digs each season.
 
Born in San Diego while her father, Ken Greene, was a member of the San Diego Chargers, Greene later moved to Nampa, Idaho, where she attended Nampa Christian High School. As a prep athlete she won a total of 12 varsity letters in volleyball, basketball and track and field, earning all-state honors in all three sports. Greene graduated from San Diego State in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration. She completed her master’s degree in leadership and organizational studies at Azusa Pacific in 2010.
 
NEW FACES ON THE SIDELINE
Greene completed her coaching staff for the 2024 season with the addition of Rafael Asvolinsque (Pontifical Catholic University) and Kara Barkdoll Coy (Cal State San Marcos ’14) as her assistant coaches. Asvolinsque joins the Tritons after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Point Loma Nazarene (2022-23) and spent the 2021 season as a volunteer assistant at the University of San Diego. Coy comes to La Jolla after a season as business operations coordinator at CSUSM (2023-24) and served as volleyball operations assistant at San Diego State (2018-23).
 
WINNING IN THE CLASSROOM
Sabire Karacaova, Emily McDaniel, Ava McInnes, Katie Rapp, Jasmine Saran and Kayla Uhlick were six of the eight women’s volleyball scholar-athletes named to the Big West All-Academic team for the 2023 fall season. Saran was also named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team. UC San Diego women’s volleyball had 12 scholar-athletes named to the Big West Commissioner’s Honor Roll, including nine Tritons receiving Highest Honors with a 3.51-4.00 grade point average.
 
WELCOME TO LIONTREE ARENA
Since it was established nearly three decades ago, the University of California San Diego’s RIMAC (Recreation, Intramural and Athletic Complex) Arena has been home to countless athletic competitions, graduations, concerts and other events that are imprinted on the memories of thousands of UC San Diego alumni, students, friends and visitors.
 
In June of 2022, UC San Diego announced that RIMAC Arena has been named LionTree Arena in recognition of a $5 million gift for scholar-athletes from LionTree, an independent investment and merchant bank with expertise in technology, media and the digital economy. LionTree was founded by UC San Diego alumnus Aryeh B. Bourkoff, who also serves as the firm’s CEO. LionTree’s gift is the largest ever received by UC San Diego Athletics, establishing the LionTree Endowed Scholarship Fund to support scholar-athletes.
 
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program has completed its four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of the Big West Conference for the 2024-25 academic year. All sports are now eligible for both conference and NCAA postseason play.
 
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego’s close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
 
UC SAN DIEGO ON THE WORLDWIDE LEADER
Most UC San Diego home men’s and women’s basketball games, men’s and women’s soccer matches, men’s and women’s volleyball matches, baseball and softball games are broadcast live on ESPN+. For more information on where to watch UC San Diego women’s volleyball, visit UCSDTritons.com/live.
 
GAME DAY GOES DIGITAL
Triton fans now have a whole new way to access game day information, as game programs have gone digital! Fans can visit UCSDTritons.com from their smart phone or scan the QR code at the entrance to LionTree Arena for everything they need to know about each home game, including updated rosters, schedules, and stats for each team, as well as links to watch on ESPN+.
 
COVERING THE TRITONS
Media members wishing to cover a UC San Diego game in-person at LionTree Arena must notify a member of the Athletics Communication staff no later than 24 hours prior to the game. Following the conclusion of each home game, a video highlight melt and video postgame interviews will be made available for media members to download.
 
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through X and Instagram. The team’s handle is @ucsdwvb.
 
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
 
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories, click here.
 
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.