Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team (8-4) begins Big West Conference play on Tuesday, September 19, as the Highlanders host Long Beach State at 7 pm in the SRC Arena. This weekend UCR travels to UC Santa Barbara on Friday, September 22, at 7 pm and travels Saturday, September 23, to take on Cal Poly at 4:30 pm.
GAME NOTES
OUT OF THE GATES
The Highlanders have won eight of their first twelve matches of the season, already equaling their 2016 total season wins. It is the second fastest 12-match start in the program's 17-year Division I history.
|
Thru Match 12 |
Result In Match |
| Year |
W-L |
13 |
14 |
15 |
| 2005 |
11-1 |
L |
L |
W |
| 2017 |
8-4 |
|
|
|
| 2004 |
8-4 |
W |
L |
L |
| 2001 |
7-5 |
|
|
|
LENDING A HELPING HAND
As of September 17, Chelsea Doyle ranks 31st in the nation in assists per set this season, with an average of 11.07. She came into the season ranked seventh on the Highlanders' career list, and has already passed Tiffany Brooks's 2,157 ('04) 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 11.07 assists per set, she would finish eighth 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 |
DIG 'EM
Nicole Rodriguez is fourth the Big West with 4.39 digs per set. As a team, the Highlanders rank 19th in the nation in digs per set with 17.51.
EXTERMINATE!
As of September 17, the Highlanders rank third in the Big West in kills per set at 13.39.
CHIMNEY SWEEP
The Highlanders have four, 3-0 sweeps to their credit through twelve matches in 2017. They only had three, 3-0 sweeps throughout the entirety of the 2016 campaign.
BACK FOR THE ATTACK
The Highlanders return five of their top six attacking players from last season. Mickayla Sherman led the squad with 312 kills, followed by Meg Graham's 206, Brooke Callahan's 179, Chelsea Doyle's 82, and Fabiana Rosas' 57.
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). Nicole Rodriguez did likewise on September 19 (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).
