Volleyball Hits The Road For Back-to-Back Matches Against UCSB And Cal Poly

Highlanders In Week Eight

at UC Santa Barbara

Friday, October 16 at 7:00 pm

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at Cal Poly

Saturday, October 17 at 7:00 pm

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Santa Barbara, CA—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team hits the road this week for matches at UC Santa Barbara on Friday, October 16, and at Cal Poly on Saturday, October 17. Both matches begin at 7 pm PT.

The Highlanders (6-12, 1-4) dropped a 3-0 decision at Long Beach State (box score/recap), and a 3-0 result at UC Irvine (box score/recap) last week.

Maddie Hubbell continues to lead the conference in digs per set (4.77), Alexis Urbach ranks fifth in the conference in service aces per set (0.31), and Chelsea Doyle is also fifth in the Big West in assists per set (7.95). Helena Peric leads the team in kills per set at 2.74, followed by Alexis Urbach (2.51), Fabiana Rosas (2.45) and Alex Gresham (1.94).

UC Santa Barbara (4-12, 0-5) has lost 11 straight, and is looking for it's first conference win after falling 3-0 at UC Davis and 3-1 at Cal Poly last week.

Emilia Petrachi leads the Gauchos, ranking second in the Big West in digs per set at 4.38, Elizabeth Sheffield is sixth in hitting percentage at .323, while Ali Barbeau is eleventh in the conference with 2.95 kills per set.

UC Riverside is 3-42-2 all-time against UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos have won each of the last seven meetings between the clubs.

Cal Poly is 12-4 entering the week including 4-1 in Big West play after beating UC Irvine, 3-0, and UC Santa Barbara, 3-1, last week. The Mustangs take on Cal State Fullerton on Friday, October 16 before hosting UC Riverside.

Taylor Nelson leads the Big West in assists per set (10.95), and Adlee Van Winden is third in the conference with 3.97 kills per set. Savannah Nieman is third in the Big West in service aces per set (0.32) and fourth in hitting percentage (.338).

The Highlanders are 10-20 all-time against the Mustangs, and have won two of the last five matches.

Highlanders vs. Gauchos and Mustangs
	UC Riverside		UC Santa Barbara	Cal Poly
2015 Record & Stats	6-12, 1-4		4-12, 0-5	12-4, 4-1
	Roster		Roster	Roster
	Schedule & Results		Schedule & Results	Schedule & Results
Conference	Big West		Big West	Big West
Current Streak	L 4		L 11	W 4
Most Recent Box Score	L, 3-0 at UC Irvine		L, 3-1 at Cal Poly	W, 3-1 vs UC Santa Barbara
Next Opponent	October 23 vs UC Davis		October 17 vs Cal State Fullerton	October 23 at CSUN
Top Attacker		Helena Paric Junior 145 K, 2.74 K/S, .168 Pct.	Ali Barbaeu Junior 171 K, 2.95 K/S, .187 Pct.	Adlee Van Winden Freshman 234 K, 3.97 K/S, .216 Pct.
Top Setter		Chelsea Doyle Freshman 525 A, 7.95 A/S	Annie Hasselman Freshman 314 A, 5.32 A/S	Taylor Nelson Sophomore 625 A, 10.96 A/S
Top Blocker		Alex Gresham Sophomore 46 TB, 0.70 B/S	Elizabeth Shefield Junior 56 TB, 0.95 B/S	Taylor Gruenewald Senior 44 TB, 0.90 B/S
Record vs.			3-42-2 (results)	10-20-0 (results)
Current Streak vs.			L 7	L 2

GAME NOTES
QUICK OUT OF THE GATE
At 6-12, the Highlanders are off to their best start since the 2005 season.

Year	Record Through 18 Matches	Final Record
2005	13-5	16-11
2004	9-9	11-18
2001	8-10	10-17
2003	7-11	9-20
2015	6-12

TWO YEARS IN ONE
The Highlanders surpassed their combined win total from the past two seasons in just the 11th match of the year (5-6 in 2015, 2-26 in 2014, 2-26 in 2013).

THE COMEBACK KIDS
UC Riverside trailed two sets to one at San Jose State on August 28, but battled back to win the match, three sets to two. That marked the first time the Highlanders had come back from that kind of deficit to win since September 14, 2012 vs. Florida Atlantic.

On September 25, the Highlanders again roared back from a two-sets-to-one deficit, but this time they also trailed in the fourth vs. Cal State Fullerton, 19-12. They took the fourth set 31-29 and won the fifth, 15-10.

GETTING OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT
The Highlanders won their first Big West Conference match of the season for the first time since 2005 with a 3-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton on September 25. The 2002 and 2003 UCR squads also won their first conference matches of the year, but the Highlanders have never begun Big West play with victories in their first two matches.

INDY 500
The Highlanders 3-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton on September 25 was witnessed by 510 rabid UC Riverside fans—the ninth highest attended match in the Division I history of the program ... or rather the 10th highest, as 629 fans attended the team's match against #10 Hawai'i on October 3.

Date	Opponent	Attendance
September 24, 2011	CSUN	745
September 27, 2014	#25 Hawai'i	731
October 3, 2015	#10 Hawai'i	629
October 27, 2001	Long Beach State	625
September 21, 2012	#7 Hawai'i	594
October 4, 2002	Long Beach State	586
October 26, 2001	UC Irvine	575
September 3, 2008	#6 UCLA	535
November 17, 2001	Cal State Fullerton	513
September 25, 2015	Cal State Fullerton	510

FRESHMAN SENSATION
Alex Gresham was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2014, becoming the fifth Highlander to be so honored (Ashley Cox, 2012; Megan Reza, 2011; Jamie DeKiewiet, 2002; Shannon Burmaster, 2001)

BLUE AND GOLD DIGGER
Sophomore Maddie Hubbell ranked eighth in the Big West in digs per set last season with 3.59. She currently leads the conference in total digs (315) and in digs per set (4.77). Should Hubbell maintain her digs per set average she will rank fourth in single-season digs per set in the program's Division I history.

She was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for her performance from August 31-September 6. She is the first Highlander to receive a weekly award since Amanda Vialpando in 2011.

Digs Per Set (min. 100)
Sheryl Benson	5.7	1988
Leanna Clark	5.1	1988
Melanie Jones	5.0	1987
Maddie Hubbell	4.77	2015
Janna Stern	4.5	1998

ALL-TOURNEY TEAMS
The Highlanders recorded five All-Tournament caliber performances during the non-conference portion of their schedule. Chelsea Doyle, Alex Greshman and Fabiana Rosas opened the season by being named to the San Jose State All-Tournament Team (story). Maddie Hubbell earned All-Tournament honors at the Bulldog Showdown (story). Helena Peric was named to the Grand Canyon Invitational All-Tournament Team (story).

SWEPT UP
The Highlanders three-set win over Savannah State on September 6, 2014 (box score/recap) was the first sweep for UC Riverside since a 3-0 victory over Villanova on September 15, 2012 (box score/recap).

PLEADING THE FOURTH AND FIFTH
The Highlanders played to four or five sets in 13 of 28 matches last season. The 2004, 2007 and 2012 squads all played 15 matches to four or five sets to claim the UCR Division I mark.

This season, UC Riverside has played to four or five sets in nine out of its first 18 matches.

LET THERE BE HEIGHT!
Of the eight newcomers to the Highlanders 2015 squad, five are taller than 6-0, giving UC Riverside eight 6-footers overall, and its highest percentage of 6-footers in the Division I history of the program.

(ALMOST) OVER THE RAINBOW
UC Riverside took the first set from nationally-ranked Hawai'i in the last match of the 2014 season, 25-19. It marked the first time the Highlanders had won a set against the Rainbow Wahine since 1984, spanning 20 sets. UCR also nearly topped Hawai'i in the second set of their September 27 meeting, but the Rainbow Wahine eked out a 29-27 victory.

GENERAL PATTON-(COLEMAN)
UC Riverside is in its third season under new head coach Michelle Patton-Coleman. Patton-Coleman came 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 her tenure including a 21-9 mark in 2012 which included a program-record 16 conference victories.