Volleyball Heads To Phoenix For The Grand Canyon Invitational This Weekend

Grand Canyon Invitational

at Grand Canyon

September 18 at 6:00 pm

Live Stats

Free Admission

vs. Northern Arizona

September 19 at 12:00 pm

Live Stats

Free Admission

vs. Boise State

September 19 at 3:00 pm

Live Stats

Free Admission

Phoenix, AZ—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team heads east for the Grand Canyon Invitational for its final tournament before hitting the conference trail. The Highlanders will face tournament host, Grand Canyon Friday, September 18 at 6 pm PT. UCR will wrap up the tournament squaring off against Northern Arizona and Boise State Saturday, September 19 at 12 pm and 3 pm, respectively.

Junior Maddie Hubbell leads the Highlanders' defensive efforts and the Big West with 169 total digs, averaging 4.69 digs per set. She was recently named to the Bulldog Showdown's All-Tournament Team for her performance in Fresno, CA (story).

Fabiana Rosas spearheads UC Riverside's offense with 90 total kills, averaging 3.46 per set. Joining Rosas as the Highlander's top-attackers is Alexis Urbach. Urbach had herself an breakout performance at the Bulldog Showdown notching double-digit kills in two out of their three matches. The freshman matched her season-high 13 kills in UCR's, 3-0 win over Central Michigan to close out the tournament. She has 83 total kills, averages 2.37 kills per set and ranks third in the conference in service aces with 13.

Freshman Chelsea Doyle is a staple at setter for the Highlanders, ranking fifth in the Big West with an average of 7.75 assists per set and fourth in total assists with 279.

UC Riverside starts off the two-day tournament with a rematch against Grand Canyon after the Highlanders topped the 'Lopes, 3-0 earlier this season (box score/recap).

UCR will spend the second day of the tournament taking on a Northern Arizona team that just finished up a week of competition against three teams from Power 5 conferences that included a win against Virginia Tech.

The Highlanders will wrap things up against a first-time meeting with Boise State. The Bronco's Sierra Nobley leads the Mountain West conference, averaging 4.83 kills per set. Sarah Baugh, their top setter, also leads the conference in assists, averaging 11.39 per set.

Highlanders at Grand Canyon Invitational
	UC Riverside		Grand Canyon	NAU	Boise State
2015 Record & Stats	4-6		2-7	7-3	6-3
	2015 Roster		2015 Roster	2015 Roster	2015 Roster
	2015 Schedule		2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule
Conference	Big West		WAC	Big Sky	Mountain West
Current Streak	W 1		W 2	L 1	W 5
Most Recent Box Score	W, 3-0 vs. Central Michigan		W, 3-0 vs. Niagra	L, 3-2 at Indiana	W, 3-0 vs. Abilene Christian
Next Opponent	September 25 vs. Cal State Fullerton		September 26 vs. CSU Bakersfield	September 24 at Portland State	September 24 at Wyoming
Top Attacker		Fabiana Rosas Junior 90 K, 3.46 K/S, .198 Pct.	Natalie Tardy Sophomore 90 K, 3.21 K/S, .160 Pct.	Janae Vander Ploeg Senior 163 K, 4.18 K/S, .260 Pct.	Sierra Nobley Sophomore 145 K, 4.83 K/S, .271 Pct.
Top Setter		Chelsea Doyle Freshman 279 A, 7.75 A/S	Michelle Steagall Junior 238 A, 7.93 A/S	Jensen Barton Junior 265 A, 8.83 A/S	Sarah, Baugh Senior 353 A, 11.39 A/S
Top Blocker		Alex Gresham Sophomore 30 TB, 0.83 B/S	Katrice Pond Freshman 20 TB, 0.80 B/S	Payton Bock Senior 54 TB, 1.38 B/S	Kaitlyn Oliver RS Sophomore 33 TB, 1.06 B/S
Record vs.			9-6 (results)	3-3 (results)	First Meeting
Current Streak vs.			W 1	L 3	NA

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. She currently leads the conference in total digs (169) and in digs per set (4.69). 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 stellar 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	4.69	2015
Janna Stern	4.5	1998

(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 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 four out of its first 10 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.

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.