RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The UC Riverside Women's Volleyball Team opens up a four-match home stand this weekend welcoming UC Irvine and UC Davis to the SRC Arena. The Highlanders are set to face the Anteaters Friday night before taking on the Aggies on Saturday. Both matches are scheduled for 7:00 PM.
Visit gohighlanders.com/tickets to purchase.
SCOUTING THE ANTEATERS
UCI comes into Friday's match ranked 3rd in the Big West with a conference record of 8-2. The last time the Highlanders faced the Anteaters, UC Irvine took the match 3-0 on its home court.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
UC Davis enters the weekend just two spots above UCR with a conference record of 6-5 after winning its last five straight matches. The Highlanders and Aggies matched up in Davis, CA less than a month ago in a five set contest that ended in favor of the Aggies.
BREAKING RECORDS
Tuesday night at CSUN, senior setter Chelsea Doyle etched her name into Highlander History becoming UCR's Division I assist leader with 3,503. This is the most by Highlander since 2009 and is the 2nd most All-Time in program history.
FRESHMAN ON FIRE
The Highlander freshmen have already made a huge impact in just their first year of playing at the DI level.
Outside-hitter Nailah Jones has been a true offensive force in her first year as a Highlander as she has posted double-digit kills in 10 of her last 13 matches. This includes two dominant 15 kill performances over Nevada and San Francisco, and a career high 20 over UCSB this past weekend.
Outside-hitter Christina Escamilla has been a spark plug as of late collecting 48 kills in her last five matches including a career high 16 this past week at CBU. Middle-hitter Ashlyn Blotzer also collected a career high at CBU with 10 kills.
BIG ON DIGS
The Highlanders' defense has held strong all year as the team's 17.19 digs p/set leads the Big West Conference and their 1427 total digs rank 3rd. This feat has helped UCR extend plays, stay in rallies, and eventually turn them into Highlander points.
COUNT ON CHELSEA
Senior setter Chelsea Doyle has been crucial to the Highlander offense, setting up her teammates at every opportunity. Her 9.12 assists p/set average currently ranks 4th in the Big West and her 684 total assists rank 3rd.
Doyle currently sits 3rd on the Highlanders all-time record book with 3,430 assists and is on pace to move into 2nd by the end of the season.
SWEEPING AWAY THE COMPETITION
The Highlanders have earned three of their seven wins in sweeping fashion topping both UMASS Lowell, Idaho State, and Cal State Fullerton 3-0.
KAI DON'T LIE
Senior outside hitter Kaiulani Ahuna has been nothing short of spectacular in the 2018 season. Opening weekend, Ahuna broke two program records notching 30 kills (Rally-Scoring Era Record) in a win over Montana and then smashing 33 more (DI Record) on Eastern Washington to become the first Highlander to ever put up 30+ on back-to-back days. Following this weekend, Ahuna led the NCAA in total kills and kills p/set and was awarded Player of the Week Awards from the Big West Conference, VolleyMob, and the AVCA.
On September 14th, Ahuna would again make the Highlander history book breaking her own personal record and UCR's Division I record with a 34 kill performance against Idaho. She now has recorded three of UCR's top-six single match performances.
