Volleyball Kicks Off Season With Three Games At Wildcat Invitational Starting Friday

Friday, August 30

Ogden, UT

3:00 pm

UC Riverside

Texas Tech

Photo by: Anthony C. Porta

Volleyball Kicks Off Season With Three Games At Wildcat Invitational Starting Friday

8/29/2013 1:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Aug. 30 vs Texas Tech	Live Stats		Purchase Tickets
Aug. 31 at Weber State	Live Stats	Live Video	Purchase Tickets
Aug. 31 vs Seattle	Live Stats		Purchase Tickets

Ogden, Utah—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team kicks off its regular season with three games at the Wildcat Invitational starting this Friday, August 30. First up on the docket is a 3:00 pm PT match against Texas Tech on Friday, followed by a pair of games on Saturday vs. Weber State at 10:00 am and against Seattle at noon.

UC Riverside is in its first season under new head coach Michelle Patton. Patton comes to the Highlanders following five seasons at San Francisco State, where she took over a program that lay dormant for four years (2004-07). The Gators advanced to two NCAA Tournaments during Patton's tenure including a 21-9 mark in 2012 which included a program-record 16 conference victories.

The Highlanders have faced off against Texas Tech just once in the program's history, earning a 2-1 victory on September 23, 1978—many years before any of the current members of the UCR team were born.

UC Riverside is on the other side of that coin against Weber State and Seattle, going 0-1 against both teams with the most recent matches coming in 2002 and 2009 respectively.

Highlanders at Wildcat Invitational Match Capsules
	UC Riverside	Texas Tech	Weber State	Seattle
2012 Record & Stats	8-24, 2-16	14-18, 3-13	11-21, 4-16	9-19, 4-14
	Roster	Roster	Roster	Roster
	Schedule	Schedule	Schedule	Schedule
Conference	Big West	Big 12	Big Sky	WAC
Current Streak	L 2	L 2	W 1	L 1
Most Recent Box Score	L, 3-0 at #8 Hawai'i	L, 3-0 at #20 Kansas	W, 3-1 at E. Washington	L, 3-0 at Denver
Next Opponent	Sept. 6 vs New Mexico	Sept. 3 vs Abilene Christian	Sept. 6 at Nevada	Sept. 2 vs E. Washington
Top Returning Attacker (2012 Stats)	Ashley Cox Fr. 408 K 3.61 K/S .162 Pct.	Breeann David Jr. 213 K 2.77 K/S .152 Pct.	Rebecca Fuchs So. 323 K 2.74 K/S .092 Pct.	Sarah Jaeckel Sr. 253 K 2.32 K/S .148 Pct.
Top Returing Setter (2012 Stats)	Alissa Apecechea So. 24 A 1.50 A/S	Emily Ruetter So. 1071 A 9.48 A/S	Whitney Hunt So. 136 A 1.56 A/S	Lani Beadle Sr. 58 A 0.52 A/S
Top Returing Blocker (2012 Stats)	Megan Reza 75 TB 0.69 B/S	Breeann David Jr. 63 TB 0.82 B/S	Briana Wilms Sr. 100 TB 0.91 B/S	Allison Farley Sr. 74 TB 0.68 B/S
Record vs.		1-0 (results)	0-1 (results)	0-1 (results)
Current Streak vs.		W 1	L 1	L 1

GAME NOTES
GENERAL PATTON
UC Riverside is in its first season under new head coach Michelle Patton. Patton comes to the Highlanders following five seasons at San Francisco State, where she took over a program that lay dormant for four years (2004-07). The Gators advanced to two NCAA Tournaments during Patton's tenure including a 21-9 mark in 2012 which included a program-record 16 conference victories.

KILLER ATTACK
Outside Hitter Ashley Cox recorded a career-high 29 kills against UC Santa Barbara on November 16, 2012—the most kills a member of the Highlanders has posted since Jamie DeKiewiet had 30 against UC Irvine on November 12, 2005. The 29 kills tie for sixth all-time in UC Riverside's program history for most kills in a single-match.

SNUFFING THE ANTEATERS
UCR picked up its first league victory of the 2012 season on November 8, defeating UC Irvine 3-1. The win also snapped a 15-match losing skid in Big West play dating back to the end of the 2011 season.

WRONG WAY STREAK
The Highlanders dropped 12 straight matches to open Big West play last season—the most since the 2010 squad went without a win in conference play.

IN THE BEGINNING ...
The Highlanders started the 2012 season with a 3-1 record, tying the program's Division I-era record for best start through four matches. The 2005 UCR squad went on to start the year 11-1.

KILLER ATTACK
The Highlanders hit .375 as a team against Providence on August 25, 2012—the second-best hitting percentage in a single match in the team's Division I history.

.406	vs. Southern Illinois	Sept. 2, 2005
.375	vs. Providence	Aug. 25, 2012
.365	vs. Liberty	Sept. 3, 2005

ALL-CONFERENCE
Two UC Riverside players garnered All-Big West Conference accolades in 2012 as outside hitters Amanda Vialpando and Ashley Cox were each selected to the Honorable Mention Team, while Cox was also selected to the All-Freshman Team.