Volleyball Opens 2015 Season On The Road With Pair Of Tournaments

UNLV Invitational

vs. Weber State

August 28 at 10:00 am

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at San Jose State

August 28 at 10:00 am

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Free Admission

vs. Rutgers

August 28 at 10:00 am

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at Santa Clara

August 28 at 10:00 am

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San Jose, CA—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team hits the road to begin its 2015 season with a pair of tournaments—the San Jose Invitational, where they will face Weber State and the host Spartans on Friday, August 28 at 10 am and 7 pm respectively, and the Santa Clara Tournament, where they square off against Rutgers and the host Broncos on Saturday, August 29 at 3 pm and 7 pm.

The Highlanders welcome eight new faces to the team this season, including five players who stand 6-0 or taller. Half of the squad now towers at or above the 6-0 mark—the highest percentage of bigs in the Division I history of the program.

UC Riverside must replace the production of last year's top outside hitter, Bri Holmes, who led the squad with 230 kills. The Highlanders return sophomore Alex Gresham, who finished second to Holmes in total kills (216), and first on the team in attack percentage (.201), along with senior Ashley Cox, who was third on the squad in kills.

Gresham also finished second on the Highlanders in blocks (60) a year ago to Meg Graham (67) who is also back for her sophomore campaign.

UC Riverside's toughest opponent this weekend looks to be Santa Clara. The Broncos are coming off of a 22-10 season a year ago, and were picked to finish in second place in the WCC in 2015 in the preseason coaches' poll. They return the conference freshman of the year in setter Kristen Mead.

Highlanders at San Jose Invitational & Santa Clara Tournament
	UC Riverside		Weber State	San Jose State	Rutgers	Santa Clara
2014 Record & Stats	2-26		7-23	4-27	7-26	22-10
2015 Record & Stats	0-0		0-0	0-0	0-0	0-0
	2015 Roster		2015 Roster	2015 Roster	2015 Roster	2015 Roster
	2015 Schedule		2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule
Conference	Big West		Big Sky	WAC	Big Ten	WWC
Current Streak	L 22		L 3	L 7	L 20	L 1
Most Recent Box Score	N/A		N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Next Opponent	September 4 vs. Grand Canyon		August 28 vs. Santa Clara	August 29 vs. Weber State	September 4 at Harvard	September 4 at New Mexico
Top Returning Attacker		Alex Gresham Sophomore 216 K, 2.14 K/S, .201 Pct.	Amanda Varley Sophomore 256 K, 2.21 K/S, .111 Pct.	Tyanna Roy Senior 300 K, 3.00 K/S, .117 Pct.	Lauren Cloyd Junior 390 K, 3.51 K/S, .219 Pct.	Nikki Hess Junior 305 K, 3.68 K/S, .225 Pct.
Top Returning Setter		Maddie Hubbell Junior 69 A, 0.68 A/S	Taylor Christensen Sophomore 1,134 A, 9.61 A/S	Allison Meehan Senior 667 A, 7.02 A/S	Ana Sudbury Senior 239 A, 5.43 A/S	Kristen Mead Sophomore 1255 A, 11.9 A/S
Top Returning Blocker		Meg Graham Senior 67 TB, 0.76 B/S	Megan Thompson Junior 141 TB, 1.18 B/S	Sara Hibbs Sophomore 81 TB, 0.75 B/S	Mikaela Matthews Junior 112 TB, 0.98 B/S	Natasha Calkins Sophomore 56 TB, 0.77 B/S
Record vs.			0-2 (results)	1-4 (results)	First Meeting	4-2 (results)
Current Streak vs.			L 2	L 3	N/A	L 2

GAME NOTES
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.

(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.

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).

FOURTH AND FIFTH
The Highlanders have 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.

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.

GENERAL PATTON
UC Riverside is in its third season under new head coach Michelle Patton. Patton 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 Patton's tenure including a 21-9 mark in 2012 which included a program-record 16 conference victories.