BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - UC Riverside completed the weekend road sweep on Saturday night at the Icardo Center with a 3-1 win over Cal State Bakersfield.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UCR dropped set one 27-25 in what was set up to be another Big West battle, as Delaney Tate recorded three kills and five digs while both teams combined for 10 ties in the opening set. Tate and Sophia Ewalefo each notched a kill in the Highlanders' hot 4-1 start to set two.
- Ewalefo put down the final kill in set two as the Highlanders tied the match at a set apiece with Tate having already recorded her 10th of 17 kills on the night.
- UC Riverside enjoyed its second straight hot start to a set in set three, jumping out to a 9-3 lead while hitting a perfect 1.000 thus far. UCR ultimately kept pressing for a .500 hitting percentage in a 25-15 set three win while holding Cal State Bakersfield to .048.
- Two kills from Tate out of a Bakersfield timeout late in set four put UCR within a point and an attack error tied it after the Highlanders were down 23-18. Beatriz Silva later put down her third ace of the night to set up a set point on the tail end of a 6-1 run.
- The Highlanders put an emphatic finish on win number three of conference play, going on an 8-2 run that included three kills from Tate.
HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS
- Saturday secured UCR's first three-match Big West win streak in program history following wins at Cal State Fullerton and CSUN.
- Tate was back in attacking form with her eighth 10-kill performance on the year after registering just one in Friday's win at CSUN. The senior from West Covina was one dig shy of double double number two on the season and exploded for 17 kills overall after combining for just two across both meetings last season.
- Carissa Wiles earned her second start of the season in Bakersfield, going for one kill, one assist and one dig.
- Jessica Dean set a new career high with 24 digs to augment two assists and one of UCR's seven aces on the night. Dean's presence in the back row is the main reason as to why three of the Highlanders' top four highest dig totals have come in Big West action.
- Similarly, UCR's two highest single-match block totals this season have come in conference play after recording 5.5 on Saturday.
FROM COACH CANNON
"We've been preparing for and pushing through challenges and hard times throughout our preseason, and this past weekend's two-match sweep on the road is a testament to our resiliency."
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