UC San Diego’s women’s volleyball team lost to New Mexico State in four sets on Saturday at LionTree Arena. The Tritons, now 1-1 this season, were defeated by the Aggies with set scores of 21-25, 16-25, 25-15, and 15-25. This result puts UC San Diego at 0-2 all-time against New Mexico State, which moves to a 2-1 record.
Molly McCluskey led the Tritons with 11 kills and contributed 10 digs for her second double-double in as many matches. Maria Fernanda Afonso also finished with 11 kills. Maija Nepszy had a notable performance, recording her first career double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs, along with three block assists. Paulina Baillie led the defense with 17 digs while Ireland McNees recorded four blocks.
The opening set was closely contested before New Mexico State pulled ahead late to win. In the second set, UC San Diego started strong but could not maintain momentum as the Aggies capitalized on errors to secure another set victory. The Tritons responded in the third set by taking an early lead and holding it throughout for their only set win of the match. However, New Mexico State regained control in the fourth set to close out the match.
“Maija Nepszy recorded her first collegiate double-double in the contest and Molly McCluskey registered her second of the season.”
“New Mexico State leads the all-time series 2-0.”
“Starters included Maria Afonso, Paulina Baillie, Molly McCluskey, Ireland McNees, Maija Nepszy and Jasmine Saran.”
UC San Diego will play Northwestern next as part of the final day of the UC San Diego Invitational on Sunday at noon. The match will be available via ESPN+ and live statistics can be accessed through UCSDTritons.com.
After joining NCAA Division I’s Big West Conference in 2020 following years of success in Divisions II and III, UC San Diego’s athletics program has won numerous national championships across its sports teams and maintains a high graduation rate among scholar-athletes.
