Denver, CO—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team (7-2) concludes non-conference play this weekend with three matches at the Denver Invitational. On Friday, September 15, the Highlanders take on San Diego State at 2 pm. On Saturday, September 16 they take on the host Pioneers at 11:30 am, and they finish out the tournament with a 3 pm start against Gonzaga.
GAME NOTES
OUT OF THE GATES
The Highlanders have won seven of their first nine matches of the season, which is the second best start to a season in the program's Division I era. The 2001 UC Riverside squad began the season with seven wins in its first nine matches, and the 2004 team won eight of its first nine. The 2005 team began the year 11-1.
|
Thru Match 9 |
Result In Match |
| Year |
W-L |
10 |
11 |
12 |
| 2005 |
8-1 |
W |
W |
W |
| 2004 |
8-1 |
L |
L |
L |
| 2017 |
7-2 |
|
|
|
| 2001 |
7-2 |
L |
L |
L |
LENDING A HELPING HAND
As of September 13, Chelsea Doyle ranks 14th in the nation in assists per set this season, with an average of 11.77. She came into the season ranked seventh on the Highlanders' career list, and passed Tiffany Brooks's 2,157 ('04) in last weekend in sixth place. This year, she established a new career-high of 57 assists in a 3-1 victory over Drake on August 26 (box score/recap).
| UC Riverside Career Assist Leaders |
| Pos |
Student-Athlete |
Years |
Assists |
| 1 |
Regina Carbajal |
1987-90 |
4,492 |
| 2 |
Brittney Murrey |
2006-09 |
3,502 |
| 3 |
Kym Murphy |
2002-04 |
3,407 |
| 4 |
Christi Karsten |
1990-93 |
2,608 |
| 5 |
Laura Ratto |
1997-2000 |
2,563 |
| 6 |
Chelsea Doyle |
2015-present |
2,188 |
Should she maintain her seasonal average of 11.77 assists per set, she would finish second on the Highlanders single-season assist chart.
| UC Riverside Single Season Assist Leaders |
| Pos |
Student-Athlete |
Season |
Assists/Set |
| 1 |
Kym Murphy |
2005 |
12.51 |
| 2 |
Regina Carbajal |
1988 |
11.7 |
| 3 |
Kym Murphy |
2003 |
11.41 |
| 4 |
Kym Murphy |
2004 |
11.31 |
| 5 |
Regina Carbajal |
1989 |
11.3 |
As a team, the Highlanders are ranked 11th in the nation in assists per set with 13.73.
DIG 'EM
Nicole Rodriguez is fourth the Big West with 4.47 digs per set. As a team, the Highlanders rank 14th in the nation in digs per set with 18.07.
EXTERMINATE!
As of September 13, Meg Graham ranks 18th in the nation, and first in the Big West, with an attack percentage of .438. As a team, the Highlanders rank second in the Big West and 30th in the nation in kills per set at 14.20.
CHIMNEY SWEEP
The Highlanders have four, 3-0 sweeps to their credit through nine matches in 2017. They only had three, 3-0 sweeps throughout the entirety of the 2016 campaign.
BACK FOR THE ATTACK
The Highlanders return four of their top five attacking players from last season. Mickayla Sherman led the squad with 312 kills, followed by Meg Graham's 206, and Brooke Callahan's 179. Rosas' 57 kills in 10 sets were fourth.
FRESH FROSH
In 2016, outside hitter Mickayla Sherman was named to the All-Conference Freshman Team, and was also the first player in the history of the program to win Big West Freshman of the Week (story). Yuliya Ushakova joined Sherman as Highlanders with conference freshman of the week honors on their résumés when she garnered the award on September 4 of this year (story).
DOING IT WITH DEFENSE
Freshman NIcole Rodriguez earned Big West Defensive Player of the Week honors in the season's first week after being named to the 2017 Titan All-Tournament Team, averaging a league-best 5.80 digs per set (story).
PACK THE HOUSE
Last season, 676 blue and gold faithful saw the Highlanders take on the Rainbow Wahine in the newly renovated SRC Arena—the third most fans to attend a home match in the team's Division I era.
| Date |
Opponent |
Att. |
| September 24, 2011 |
CSUN |
745 |
| September 27, 2014 |
Hawai'i (#25) |
731 |
| October 28, 2016 |
Hawai'i (#14) |
676 |
| October 27, 2001 |
Long Beach State |
625 |
| September 21, 2012 |
Hawai'i (#7) |
594 |
ALL-TOURNEY TEAMS
Nicole Rodriguez and Meg Graham each were named to the Titan All-Tournament Team in the season's opening weekend. Kaiulani Ahuna and Fabiana Rosas were likewise honored for their performance at Texas Tech's Red Raider Classic in the third weekend of the season (story).
