Volleyball Hits The Road For A Trio Of Matches At The Portland/Portland State Tournament

Portland/Portland State Tournament

vs. Grand Canyon

September 4 at 5:00 pm

Stott Center (Portland State)

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vs. Nevada

September 5 at 3:00 pm

Chiles Center (Portland)

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at Portland

September 5 at 7:00 pm

Chiles Center (Portland)

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Portland, OR—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team hits the road once again this weekend to take part in the Portland/Portland State Tournament, where they will face Grand Canyon Friday, September 4 at 5 pm and then squaring off against Nevada and co-host Portland on Saturday September 5 at 3 pm and 7 pm, respectively.

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.

Junior Fabiana Rosas has taken over as UC Riverside's top outside hitter, posted two double-doubles in the Highlanders' season-opening tournament. The blue and gold kicked off the season with two wins in a row. Rosas registered 11 kills and 13 digs against Weber State, then added 12 kills and 13 digs versus San Jose State. She heads into the weekend ranked fifth in the Big West in total kills (45).

Newcomer, Chelsea Doyle has emerged as the Highlanders leading setter, ranking third in the conference in total assists (116) and sixth in assists per set (7.73).

UC Riverside starts off the two-day tournament with a Grand Canyon team that features five new players, and finishes up with Portland who brings back its top five kills leaders from last season.

Highlanders at Portland/Portland State Tournament
	UC Riverside		Grand Canyon	Nevada	Portland
2014 Record & Stats	2-26		21-11	8-20	7-23
2015 Record & Stats	2-2		0-3	1-2	2-1
	2015 Roster		2015 Roster	2015 Roster	2015 Roster
	2015 Schedule		2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule	2015 Schedule
Conference	Big West		WAC	Mountain West	West Coast
Current Streak	L 2		L 3	W 1	W 2
Most Recent Box Score	L, 0-3 at Santa Clara		L, 1-3 vs. Tulsa	W, 3-0 vs. E Washington	W, 3-1 vs. Portland State
Next Opponent	September 11 at Fresno State		September 11 vs. Gonzaga	September 11 vs. Weber State	September 11 at St. Francis College
Top Attacker		Fabiana Rosas Junior 45 K, 3.00 K/S, .203 Pct.	Natalie Tardy Sophomore 33 K, 3.30 K/S, .186 Pct.	Madison Foley Sophomore 29 K, 3.22 K/S, .154 Pct.	Hannah Troutman Sophomore 42 K, 3.82 K/S, .187 Pct.
Top Setter		Chelsea Doyle Freshman 116 A, 7.73 A/S	Michelle Steagall Junior 76 A, 7.60 A/S	Taylar Rothfuss Senior 53 A, 8.83 A/S	Djurdjina Milovic Junior 119 A, 10.82 A/S
Top Blocker		Alex Gresham Sophomore 16 TB, 1.07 B/S	Emily Christensen R.- Sophomore 7 TB, 0.70 B/S	Sam Willoughby Senior 7 TB, 0.78 B/S	Kaite Sullivan Junior 9 TB, 0.82 B/S
Record vs.			8-6 (results)	7-2 (results)	1-6 (results)
Current Streak vs.			L 4	L 1	L 3

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 (67) and second in digs per set (4.47).

(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.

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