Ogden, Utah - UC Riverside opened a new era of Highlander volleyball on Friday afternoon at Swenson Gym on the campus of Weber State, falling 3-0 to the host Wildcats and 3-1 to San Jose State at the Weber State Tournament in Ogden, Utah.
UCR started the opener against host Weber State hot on a 4-0 run that included two kills from Ayanna Kimbrough. The junior from Palmdale tied a career high with four kills in the first set and finished the match with a new career-high five kills to go along with one dig.
BYU transfer Tayler Hifo's return to the Beehive State came with five assists in the first frame, ending the match with 15 assists, two kills and nine digs. Hifo had a monster day in her first action as a Highlander, going for 51 assists and 30 digs across both matches.
Mylei Vargas-Deason, Anya Green and Delaney Tate led UCR with 14 kills apiece in both matches combined.
A back and forth match between the two sides ended with an 8-0 Weber State run to take set one, 25-19.
A Hifo block in the second set made it three straight points for a Highlander squad trying to catch up to the Wildcats, but UCR sided out after Weber State took the momentum back briefly. The Wildcats ultimately jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead and later finished off the sweep.
UCR played another seesaw match in game two on the day, going back and forth with San Jose State until a 6-1 Highlander run that started with a Spartan attack error and ended with an ace from Isabella Scarlett.
After dropping a close first set, the Highlanders went on another run - this time 12-1 - with four kills from Vargas-Deason to create a comfortable separation at 18-11. UCR staved off a fierce rally from the Spartans and capitalized on 10 SJSU errors to take set two for the tie.
The Highlanders embarked on a scoring run for the third straight set against SJSU, taking advantage of three Spartans errors for a 6-0 run. UCR eventually dropped set three and played a close set four, but could not force a fifth.
UCR will close out the Weber State Tournament on Saturday against Southern Utah with a 1:30 p.m. first serve. Live stats are available on the women's volleyball schedule at GoHighlanders.com.
