RIVERSIDE, Calif.—The UC Riverside Women's Volleyball Team will close out its home schedule this weekend as the Highlanders host Long Beach State Friday night, before welcoming CSUN to the SRC Arena on Saturday for a Senior Night Matchup. Both matches are set to start at 7:00 PM.
Visit gohighlanders.com/tickets to purchase.
SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State comes into Friday's match with a 5-8 conference record after dropping its last four matches, all of which came by a score of 1-3. The Beach bested the Highlanders at home in the conference opener back in September 3-0.
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
CSUN enters the weekend one spot below the Highlanders with a 3-9 conference record having lost six of its last seven. The Matadors' only win during that stretch came over the Highlanders just over a week ago in Northridge as CSUN took the match 3-1.
SENIOR DAY
Following Saturday's match with the Beach, the Highlanders will honor seniors Kaiulani Ahuna, Chelsea Doyle, Kristie Alejo, and Mallory Marcus as all four will play their final match at the SRC Arena.
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 11 of her last 15 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 averaging 9.2 kills per match in her last five matches including a career high 16 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 17.00 digs p/set and 1615 rank 2nd in the Big West Conference. 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 9.27 assists p/set average and 795 total assists both rank 4th in conference.
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.
