RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Returning home for a midweek matchup with UC Irvine on Tuesday night, the UC Riverside women's volleyball team bounced back from a set one defeat to take down the Anteaters following five competitive games, 11-25, 25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 15-8.
The come-from-behind win marked the Highlanders' first victory since their conference opener on Sep. 24, when they took down Cal State Fullerton 3-1 back in their only other Tuesday night match of 2019. The win moves UCR to 6-17 overall and 2-10 in Big West play, while Irvine drops to 4-18 overall, 1-9 conference.
Three Highlanders reached double-figures in the kill department, another first since the match with Fullerton. Outside hitters freshman Amarachi Osuji and junior Ayla Fresenius led the way with 14 kills each. Junior middle blocker Kathleen Lowry added 13 kills on a stellar .667 hitting percentage.
Perhaps no Highlander was more important however than redshirt junior setter Morgan Kline, who finished with seven kills on nine attempts and a match-high 17 digs to go along with 42 assists. The 17 digs were tied for her second-highest total of the year.
Kline's play began to help turn the tide midway through the second set. After UCR came out flat in the opening game, dropping it 25-11 while allowing the Anteaters to hit at a match-best .591 clip as a team, the Highlanders looked like a different team in game two.
Kline finished with five digs and was a perfect 3-for-3 in the set on her cleverly timed kill attempts. Osuji chipped in with two of her match-leading three aces to go along with two kills. The Highlanders attacked with a .448 hitting percentage before an Anteater attacking error ended the set 25-21 in the home side's favor.
The Highlanders momentum would spill over into the following game, led by the hitting of Osuji and Fresenius. Osuji's five kills led all players in set three, and for the second consecutive set, Fresenius posted four kills on eight attempts. She and Kline also combined for nine scoops as they held Irvine to just a .105 hitting percentage, taking the set 25-20 to take a 2-1 lead for the night.
Irvine would fight back to force a fifth and final set, but the decisive game went UCR's way right from the outset. An Ashley Dittmann kill capped a 5-0 run early on, giving the Highlanders a 6-2 advantage. UCR's lead would not drop below three points the rest of the way, as the Highlanders finished strong to take the set 15-8 on Dittmann's seventh and final kill of the night.
Sophomore libero Renata Bath and Fresenius both reached double-digits with 11 digs apiece. Fresenius recorded her fourth double-double of the year and her first since the conference opener versus Fullerton.
UCR will remain at home for one more match this week against Hawaii on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2:00 p.m.
