RIVERSIDE, Calif.— On the final day of the Riverside-Fullerton Classic, the UC Riverside Women's Volleyball Team (2-1) went 1-1 as the Highlanders swept UMASS Lowell (0-3) 3-0, but were edged out 3-2 by Eastern Washington (3-0). After a record breaking match the night before by outside hitter Kaiulani Ahuna, the senior again made history breaking UCR's Division I kill record to become the first Highlander to post 30+ kills on back-to-back days.

UMASS LOWELL
The Highlanders' first match of the day was a dominant 3-0 sweep of UMASS Lowell where UCR outscored the River Hawks 75-47 and won the kill battle 43-25.

"We did a great job with our serving and put a ot of pressure on them," Head Coach Michelle Patton-Coleman said. "We stuck to our game plan and because of that we were able to slow down their offense."

The score was close for the early part of the first set until the Highlanders broke away with a short run that gave them a 10-6 lead. From there UCR never wavered stretching out its lead to as much as 11 points and finishing the set on a 6-1 run to win it 25-14.

The Highlanders carried their momentum from the opening set into the second as the team jumped out to a 7-1 lead and eventually extended it to 21-8, which was the largest lead of the match. The River Hawks would mount a comeback, but it was not enough as UCR captured a 2-0 lead winning the the set 25-18.

In the first two sets of play the Highlanders only trailed once and it came on the first play of the match. This feat was accomplished by UCR's ability to take care of the ball as the team only committed nine errors on the attack.

"We have a very young team so errors are something we watch very closely, Patton-Coleman said. "For us to take care of the ball like we did in this match is huge for us."

UMASS Lowell kept the third set close until UCR pulled away on an 8-1 run that gave them a 16-8 lead. The Highlanders would earn their first sweep of the year topping the River Hawks 25-15 to end the match.

Ahuna led the offense for the second straight contest with a match-high 17 kills and sophomore middle blocker Kat Lowry was force around the net for the Highlanders registering five blocks in the match.

EASTERN WASHINGTON
The final match of the tournament was full of excitement as the Highlanders trailed the Eagles 2-0, but refused to quit battling back to nearly take the match in the 5th.

"Matches like this are why we play the game," Patton-Coleman said. "We expect our student-athletes to finish when they're on top and never stop when they're behind. That's how we train."

The Eagles jumped out to an early lead in the final match of the tournament taking the first set 25-17, but the Highlanders found their stride in the second.

After trailing 20-15 in set two, UCR fought back to ice the match at 21-21. Both teams would tack on three more points each meeting at 24-24, but the Highlanders' immense efforts would fall just short as the Eagles would claim the set 26-24.

Set three was a similar story as both teams were locked the whole way and again found themselves tied at 24-24, but this time the Highlanders would prevail in a must-win situation taking the set 26-24 and cutting the overall lead to 2-1.

The Highlanders found the largest lead of the match in the fourth as they were ahead of the Eagles 20-15 and would again extend the match winning the set 25-19 to force a 5th set decider.

Eastern Washington opened up the final set 3-0 before Patton-Coleman called a timeout to to regroup with her team. Her strategy would be effective as out of the break the Highlanders turned the momentum around and tied it at 5-5. Both teams put themselves in position to take the match and tied for the final time at 11-11, but Eastern Washington would take its 3rd win of the weekend ending the set at 15-13.

Kaiulani Ahuna was a true bright spot in the match for UCR as she again had an incredible offensive performance with 33 kills, which is the most by any Highlander since 1998. Senior setter Chelsea Doyle showed off her versatility collecting 29 assists and 17 digs.

"I owe it all to my teammates who always set me up to perform well. It was awesome to set the record tonight, but the loss is what we're most concerned with," Ahuna explained. "We played as a team and the outcome came down to just one or two balls. This match is going to fuel us to prepare even more for next weekend."

The Highlanders will hit the road for the first time this season next weekend as UCR will compete in the Idaho State Invitational. The team is set to take on host Idaho State in the first match of the weekend, next Friday at 9 AM.