Volleyball Plays At CSUN Before Returning Home For Senior Night Against The Beach

Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team plays in final two matches of the 2015 season this week—Friday, November 20, at CSUN, and Saturday, November 21, at home against Long Beach State for Senior Night. Both matches begin at 7:00 pm PT.

The Highlanders (10-17, 5-9) lost Friday's match 3-0 to visiting Cal Poly (box score/recap), but bounced back to sweep UC Santa Barbara on Saturday night (box score/recap). The team's 10 wins on the season are the most since 2005, and UCR's five Big West wins are the most in program history.

Maddie Hubbell leads the conference in total digs (488) and digs per set (4.93), and was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week for performances against Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. In those matches Hubbell amassed 40 digs, and led a defense that has helped the Highlanders win three out of their last four matches.
Senior outside hitter, Helena Peric, leads the team in kills per set at 2.97, followed by Fabiana Rosas (2.61), Alexis Urbach (2.29) and Alex Gresham (2.02), while Chelsea Doyle is fifth in the Big West in assists per set (8.70).

CSUN (6-20, 5-9) split last week's home matches—a straight set victory over Cal State Fullerton, and a 3-0 defeat by Long Beach State.

The Matadors Cieana Stinson is fifth in the Big West in kills at 3.75 per set, while Aeryn Owens is second on the team at 2.72. Maddie Leiphardt directs the attack averaging 7.18 assists per set, and Katie Sato leads the defense with 3.50 digs per set.

UC Riverside is 32-20-2 all-time versus CSUN, and won a five-setter in their first meeting of the season on November 3.

Long Beach State (21-6, 11-3) also split its two conference matches falling 3-1 to Hawai'i, and beating CSUN on the road, 3-0.

Nele Barber leads the 49ers offensive attack, and is tied for third in the Big West in kills per set at 4.00. Jenele Hudson is second in the conference in assists per set with 10.53, and Hayley Benson leads the team with a .322 hitting percentage.

UC Riverside is 8-41 all-time against Long Beach State. The 49ers have won each of the last eight meetings between the clubs, including their first match-up this season on October 6, 3-0.

Highlanders vs. Matadors and 49ers
	UC Riverside		CSUN	Long Beach State
2015 Record & Stats	10-17, 5-9		6-20, 5-9	21-6, 11-3
	Roster		Roster	Roster
	Schedule & Results		Schedule & Results	Schedule & Results
Conference	Big West		Big West	Big West
Current Streak	W 1		L 1	W 1
Most Recent Box Score	W, 3-0 vs. UC Santa Barbara		L, 3-0 vs Long Beach State	W, 3-0 at CSUN
Next Opponent			Nov. 21 vs Cal State Fullerton
Top Attacker		Helena Paric Junior 276 K, 3.17 K/S, .202 Pct.	Cieana Stinson Senior 349 K, 3.75 K/S, .245 Pct.	Nele Barber Junior 408 K, 4.00 K/S, .236 Pct.
Top Setter		Chelsea Doyle Freshman 860 A, 8.60 A/S	Maddie Leiphardt Junior 474 A, 7.18 A/S	Jenelle Hudson Senior 1074 A, 10.53 A/S
Top Blocker		Meg Graham Sophomore 78 TB, 0.79 B/S	Stephanie Serna Arreola Junior 44 TB, 0.63 B/S	Ashley Murray Sophomore 66 TB, 0.73 B/S
Record vs.			32-20-2 (results)	8-41-0 (results)
Current Streak vs.			W 1	L 8

GAME NOTES
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).

RECORD BREAKERS, HISTORY MAKERS
The Highlanders have five wins in conference play this year, besting the 2003, 2005 and 2011 squads for the most Big West victories in a season in program history. UC Riverside has two conference matches remaining to increase the record total.

Year	W	L	Pct
2015	5	9	.357
2005	4	10	.286
2011	4	12	.250
2003	4	14	.222

AND PERIC MAKES FIVE
Helena Peric was named Big West Conference Player of the Week on November 9, making her the fifth player in UC Riverside history to earn the award.

Player	Position	Date
Helena Peric	Outside Hitter	Nov. 1-7, 2015
Amanda Vialpando	Outside Hitter	Sept. 12-18, 2011
Angie Mitchell	Outside Hitter	Oct. 1-7, 2007
Kym Murphy	Outside Hitter	Sept. 12-18, 2005
Jamie DeKiewiet	Outside Hitter	Sept. 6-12, 2004

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	Att.
September 24, 2011	CSUN	745
September 27, 2014	Hawai'i (#25)	731
October 3, 2015	Hawai'i (#10)	629
October 27, 2001	Long Beach State	625
September 21, 2012	Hawai'i (#7)	594
October 4, 2002	Long Beach State	586
October 26, 2001	UC Irvine	575
September 3, 2008	UCLA (#6)	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 (488) and in digs per set (4.93). 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	4.93	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
This season, UCR has four victories by way of the 3-0 sweep, September 4th vs. Grand Canyon, September 12th vs Central Michigan, November 7 at Cal State Fullerton, and November 14 at home against UC Santa Barbara.

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 13 out of its 27 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, 2014 meeting, but the Rainbow Wahine eked out a 29-27 victory.

On October 30th, the Highlanders took the third set from #6 ranked Hawai'i 25-18, and narrowly lost the decisive fourth set 25-23.

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.