PHOENIX – The UC Riverside Women's Volleyball team opened up the GCU Invitational with a tough 3-1 loss to San Diego State. The Highlanders fell in the first two sets before stealing the third, but the Aztecs proved to be too much closing out in the fourth game.

The Highlanders got out to a slow start as they dropped the first set 25-13 before they turned it around and made it much closer. The second set was a back and forth effort that saw nine ties as the Highlanders played a much cleaner game, but fell 25-20 in a much more contested effort.

UCR showed its resilience as the team was able to take the third set, 25-19, and keep the match alive. The Aztecs fought the Highlanders hard in the deciding set as they took it 25-19 to secure the victory.

UC Riverside was led by freshman Ashley Dittmann who had a team-high 15 kills to go along with eight digs. The Highlanders also had standout performances by junior Ayla Fresenius who had 13 kills and seven digs. Sophomore setter Dejah Dade contributed a strong effort as she posted 27 assists with her five digs.

The Highlanders play the host team, GCU, tomorrow, Saturday, September 14 for the first part of a doubleheader day. The first match begins at Noon with their second game starting at 4:30 PM versus Eastern Washington.