RIVERSIDE, Calif.— The UC Riverside Women's Volleyball Team (1-0) opened the 2018 season with a bang Friday afternoon, downing the Montana Grizzlies (0-1) 3-1 in a match that will go down in the Highlander record books.
In the first match of the Riverside-Fullerton Classic, senior outside hitter Kaiulani Ahuna led UCR to victory registering 30 kills, which breaks the single-match record in the 25-point set era. Her record breaking kill would come on match-winning play.
"Kai's impact on today's match was monstrous," said Head Coach Michelle Patton-Coleman. "It was great to see because I know how badly she wants to lead this team and today she did just that. I couldn't be more proud of her."
Ahuna's incredible 30 kills marks is the most by any Highlanders since 2012. She also led the team in attack percentage at .452 and showed off her versatility scooping up 14 digs, which ranked 2nd on the team.
Senior setter Chelsea Doyle was another bright spot for the offense setting up her teammates with a match-best 46 assists.
The first set was a battle for both sides. Montana opened the match with a 3-0 lead, but the Highlanders would keep it close and took their first lead at 16-15. After battling back, both teams found themselves iced at 22-22 but UCR would prevail winning its first set of the season 25-23.
"We showed great composure in the first set," Patton-Coleman said. "To have that with a young team can really boost your confidence for the rest of the match. You know you're always going to be in those tight situations at the end of the game so its good to get that experience."
The Grizzlies would then tie the overall match at 1-1 taking set two 25-21. This would be the Grizzlies' only set on the day.
UCR had the upper hand to start the third set jumping out to a 5-3 lead and continued to tack on points until Montana was forced to call time after trailing 17-12. The Grizzlies would come out of the break strong, but the Highlanders held them off winning the set 25-20.
The fourth set was all UCR as the Highlanders broke an 8-8 tie to go on an eight point run and take the lead 16-8. The largest lead of the match would come late as UC Riverside found themselves up 22-10 before taking the overall match 3-1 with a 25-16 win in the fourth.
"In the fourth we were able to put consistent pressure on them with our serve and Kristie Alejo went back and got a long run for us," Patton-Coleman said. "It's a short game, so when we can do that it really makes it tough for our opponent."
The Highlanders are back in action tomorrow as they will conclude the Riverside-Fullerton Classic with a doubleheader. UCR will face Massachusetts-Lowell at 2:00 PM before taking on Eastern Washington at 7:00 PM. Both matches will be streamed on BigWest.TV.
