RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The University of California, Riverside, hosts a neutral-site match followed by its home opener Friday, Sept. 10, at the UC Riverside Volleyball Classic, as New Orleans takes on Southern Utah at 12 p.m., followed by the Highlanders against Southern Utah at 7 p.m. in SRC Arena. The Classic continues Saturday as UC Riverside hosts New Orleans at 12 p.m. before heading to California Baptist to finish the four-team, two venue weekend against the Lancers.
After having their 2020 competition schedule canceled due the COVID-19 pandemic, the UCR volleyball program, led by head coach
Michelle Patton-Coleman and assistant coach
Eric Ballelos, has jumped out of the gate in 2021 and will be eager to play the Privateers (0-2, 0-0 Southland) and Thunderbirds (2-4, 0-0 Big Sky) on their home court, 677 days since their last match at SRC Arena.
The Highlanders (1-3, 0-0 Big West) opened their 2021 regular season with a split of their first two matches, beating Fordham, 3-1, before falling to New Mexico Aug. 28 at the Titan Classic.
The team began its 2021 campaign with a four-set victory — 25-18, 25-18, 12-25, 25-20 — over Fordham in the first meeting between UCR and the Rams since 2003. The Highlanders were led by 46 total attempts by
Marina Gonzalez and a .320 hitting percentage, with double-digit kills and digs, by
Isabella Scarlett.
Amarachi Osuji also contributed 14 kills in the win. The match result made it 4-0 all-time for UC Riverside vs. Fordham.
Against New Mexico, in their first meeting since 2013, the Highlanders could not hold off the Lobos from sweeping the three-setter, with the second set back and forth before UNM reeled off six straight points to ratchet up their momentum. Gonzalez once again stood out for UCR in the loss.
In their most recent outings, Sept. 4 at the Fresno State Invitational, UCR took the opening set from Loyola Marymount before falling to the Lions, then battled Fresno State to five sets and beyond Saturday at the Save Mart Center.
Amarachi Osuji notched a combined 24 kills, with 10 against Loyola and 14 on Fresno State, while
Mia Christensen finished the day with five aces and 31 digs for the Highlanders.
Ayanna Kimbrough was a difference maker in the Highlanders' five-setter against their hosts, with her 6 kills in 8 attempts and only 1 error (.625) putting extra pressure on the Bulldogs.
The 2021-22 school year marks UC Riverside's 20th year in the Big West Conference. It will be the fourth all-time meeting with Southern Utah, with UCR up, 2-1, in the series. The last time the Highlanders and Thunderbirds met was Aug. 27, 2016, in a match won by UC Riverside, 3-1. Fabiana Rosas had 26 kills and Maddie Hubbell had 30 digs for UCR. This will be the first meeting between New Orleans and UC Riverside.
