RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside continued its four-match home stand on Saturday afternoon at the SRC Arena with a toe-to-toe match against Cal State Fullerton, falling 3-2 after going to five sets for the second straight night.

UCR stayed on Fullerton's heels for the better half of set one but was unable to take advantage until tying the match at one set apiece. The Highlanders rattled off a set-ending 5-1 run with Tayler Hifo on the service line, as UC Riverside closed out set two to tie the match at a set apiece for the second consecutive night.

Hifo did not skip a beat with back-to-back service aces to start set three, finishing her night with three. The graduate transfer reached her ninth double double of the season and fifth of Big West action halfway through set three, going for 53 assists and 22 digs on Saturday. Jessica Dean matched Hifo's 22 digs on Saturday. 

UCR passed 60 assists for the third time this season and second time in Big West action. The Highlanders also put on a defensive clinic with a whopping 104 digs, seven shy of the program's single-match Division I record for a five-set match set in 2003 against, coincidentally, Cal State Fullerton. 

A pair of blunders from Fullerton allowed UC Riverside to tie set three at 18 apiece before taking a 2-1 lead in the match in mirrored fashion from set two. The Highlanders found themselves down 22-20 once again before another 5-1 run pushed the Titans to the brink.

UCR fought off a match point in set four, but Fullerton escaped to force a fifth set before finishing off the match.

Mylei Vargas-Deason set a new single-match high by a Highlander this season with 22 kills on Saturday to augment 17 digs, an assist and a block assist. Coco Ikpe matched a career high with 13 kills on the night. 

UCR continues its homestand on Tuesday, October 25 against UC Davis at the SRC Arena. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on ESPN+.