Lubbock, TX—The UC Riverside Volleyball Team (5-1) looks to extend the best start in its Division I history this weekend with three matches at the Texas Tech Tournament. The Highlanders take on Texas Rio Grande Valley on Friday, September 8 at 8 am PT, before tangling with the host Red Raiders at 4 pm that same day. UC Riverside closes out the tournament with a 9 am start against Lamar on Saturday, September 9.
GAME NOTES
OUT OF THE GATES
The Highlanders have won five of their first six matches of the season, which ties the program's Division I era record for best six-match start. The 2001 UC Riverside squad began the season with seven wins in its first eight matches, and the 2004 team won eight of its first nine. The 2005 team began the year 11-1.
LENDING A HELPING HAND
As of September 4, Chelsea Doyle ranks second in the nation in assists per set this season, with an average of 13.40. She came into the season ranked seventh on the Highlanders' career list, and she could pass Tiffany Brooks ('04) in sixth by the end of this weekend. This season, 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 |
Tiffany Brooks |
2001-04 |
2,157 |
| 7 |
Chelsea Doyle |
2015-present |
2,098 |
| 8 |
Katie Meyers |
2010-11 |
1,704 |
Should she maintain her seasonal average of 13.15, she would crush the Highlanders' single season record for assists per set.
| 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 leads the Big West with 4.95 digs per set, which also places her 23rd nationally as of September 4. She was named Big West Defensive Player of the Week on August 28, 2017 (story).
ATTACK THE BLOCK
As of September 4, Meg Graham ranks 26th in the nation, and third in the Big West, with an attack percentage of .438.
CHIMNEY SWEEP
The Highlanders have three, 3-0 sweeps to their credit through six 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 (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 supporters 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. (tournament stats)
PLEADING THE FOURTH AND FIFTH
The Highlanders played to four or five sets in 14 of 28 matches last season, including eight of their 16 Big West matches. The 2004, 2007 and 2012 squads all played 15 matches to four or five sets to claim the UCR Division I mark.
UC Riverside is 2-0 in 2017 in four-setters, and has yet to go to five sets.
CAN YOU DIG IT?
With 17 digs at UC Davis on October 20, 2016, Maddie Hubbell ('13-16) became the UC Riverside Volleyball program's all-time digs leader, surpassing 2015 UCR Athletics Hall of Fame Inductee and Two-Time All-American Sheryl Benson-Rawlins' (84, 86, 88-89) mark of 1,556 (all-time list). Hubbell finished her career with 1,695 digs,—eighth on the Big West all-time digs list. Big West Volleyball Record Book
