RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside fell in three sets to Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday night at the SRC Arena. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• UCR hit a cool .200 early in an evenly matched first set. Both sides played a game of runs in set one and the Highlanders had a 5-2 spurt of their own, as Beatriz Silva's ace followed up a double block from Nikki Hughes and Sydnee Rowe to tie the match at 13.  
• Mylei Vargas-Deason led UC Riverside with four kills and three digs in set one while UCR and Bakersfield each put up 12 kills.  
• Vargas-Deason put down back-to-back much-needed kills in set two and Anya Green ultimately turned a 17-7 deficit into 24-17. Vargas-Deason made it 24-18 with her eighth kill of the evening to force a timeout from Bakersfield.  
• UC Riverside hit .250 early in set three with three kills from Rowe in a continuation of her outstanding performance on Saturday against UC Irvine.  

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• Rowe has now hit at least .400 in four of her last five matches after recording eight kills on 15 swings against the Roadrunners with just one error.  
• Vargas-Deason led the Highlanders in kills for the third match in a row with nine, also adding five digs on Thursday. 
• Makena Tong and Silva combined for 26 assists and 13 digs between the two setters.  

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside will host Senior Day on Saturday against CSUN. First serve is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. from the SRC Arena on ESPN+.