UC San Diego held four set points in the third and a six-point lead in the fourth. Loyola Marymount erased both advantages and won the tournament opener 26-24, 18-25, 29-27, 28-26 on Thursday to begin the Outrigger Invitational in Honolulu.
Three sets turned on the minimum two-point margin. In the first, the Tritons came back from 23-19 with a Molly McCluskey kill, two LMU attack errors and an Ireland McNees kill. Yasemin Elmas answered once more at 24-all. The Lions took the next two points, converting a set that UCSD had pulled level but never led late.
The Tritons controlled the second. An eight-point lead at 14-6 grew to 18-6 during four straight service points from Dillyn Griffin. The sequence included kills from McNees and McCluskey plus a block by Elmas and McCluskey. LMU closed to 23-18 before Gia Rivera scored, then joined Elmas on the block to finish the set 25-18.
Set three supplied the missed opening. UCSD moved from a 12-10 deficit to a 15-13 lead, with Madison Johnson tying the score, McNees serving an ace and Lucia Barroso adding a kill. Later, the Tritons reached set point at 24-22, 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26. LMU answered all four. From 27-all, the Lions won consecutive rallies and took a two-sets-to-one lead.
Griffin's serve created another gap in the fourth, turning 9-7 into 13-7. LMU recovered and tied the score at 16. The teams stayed attached through 26-all, where the Lions again claimed the final two points. UCSD was not overrun; it was beaten repeatedly at the edge of a set, when one clean sideout or transition swing could have changed the match's length.
McNees led the Tritons with 17 kills, 13 digs, two aces and two blocks for her first double-double of the season. McCluskey added 13 kills and four blocks. Brynne McGhie recorded 38 assists and 14 digs for her second double-double, while Paulina Baillie had 19 digs and five assists. Barroso led UCSD with five blocks in the individual totals.
Elmas contributed seven kills and four blocks, and Rivera added seven kills. Griffin finished with seven digs to go with her service runs. UCSD's production was spread across hitters and back-row defenders, but the distribution did not produce a closing option LMU could not answer during the three deuce-set finishes.
The teams each registered 59 kills and 74 points in the official box score. LMU hit .187 to UCSD's .186, a difference of one thousandth, and committed 27 attack errors to the Tritons' 30. The statistical balance fits the extended scores. LMU's advantage was concentrated in the last two rallies of sets one, three and four.
UC San Diego fell to 2-2; unbeaten LMU improved to 4-0. The Tritons remained in Honolulu to face Utah Tech on Friday night, without a scheduled stream. The turnaround required a specific correction. UCSD had already shown it could build leads and match the Lions rally for rally. It needed to convert the next set point before the score returned to even.