Volleyball Earns First League Victory Of Season With Five Set Thriller At Cal Poly

Friday, November 22

San Luis Obispo, CA

7:00 pm

UC Riverside

2-24, 1-13BWC

Cal Poly

11-15, 5-8BWC

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
UC Riverside	14	26	25	15	15	3
Cal Poly	25	24	23	25	9	2

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

Volleyball Earns First League Victory Of Season With Five Set Thriller At Cal Poly

11/22/2013 10:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

San Luis Obispo, CA - The UC Riverside Volleyball Team earned its first league victory of the season Friday evening topping Cal Poly in a five-set thriller, 14-25, 26-24, 25-23, 15-25, and 15-9. Ashley Cox led the Highlanders (2-24, 1-13) with a game-high 22 kills while Annishia McKoy added 13 and Fabiana Rosas had 11 (Box Score).

"I'm extremely proud of the team's effort tonight," stated Head Coach Michelle Patton. "We were in some tough situations so it was great to see them come together and perform under pressure. They earned the win tonight and I'm happy that we are learning what it takes to compete at this level and be a good team."

The win marks the first for UCR in league play since a 3-2 victory against Cal Poly on November 17, 2012.

It was all Cal Poly (11-15, 5-8) in set one as they turned a 2-1 deficit into a 10-2 lead, and never looked back in a 25-14 win. But UC Riverside responded in the second set, and took a 17-12 advantage following a Cox kill. The Mustangs rallied to tie the at 17, and the teams went back and forth as both looked to take an edge.

The Highlanders eventually went up at set-point, 24-23 after a CP error, but a UCR service error on the next play tied the set at 24. McKoy then gave UC Riverside the go-ahead point with a kill, and a block assist from Cox and Lindsay Hornsby sealed the deal lifting the blue and gold to a 26-24 win.

The third set was an even closer battle with 14 tie scores and two lead changes. Late in the frame, each time Cal Poly would tie the set, the Highlanders countered and went back up by one point. That would prove to be the difference as UCR turned a 23-23 tie into victory following a Tyler Dorsey kill and block assists from Nae Bender and McKoy.

Leading 2-1 in the match, UC Riverside looked to close it out in four sets for the first time this season. In the early going the teams were evenly matched with nine tie scores through 9-9. But the Mustangs pulled away at that point, scoring six straight en route to a 16-6 run to close out the set for the 25-15 victory.

It all came down to the fifth and final set, and UC Riverside did not disappoint, turning a 5-4 advantage into a 10-4 lead. Dorsey and Rosas both had kills during the run, and Hillary Horton capped off the rally with a service ace to make the Mustangs take a timeout.

The teams traded points after the break, but the Highlanders never let Cal Poly closer than four the rest of the way as UCR had its first conference victory in had, winning 15-9.

UC Riverside remains on the road looking to pick up its second league victory of the season, facing off against UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, November 23 at 7 pm PT in Santa Barbara, CA.