LA JOLLA, Calif. - UC Riverside (8-17, 4-11 Big West) clinched the season sweep over UC San Diego (6-21, 4-11 Big West) on Friday night with a 3-1 win at LionTree Arena.
UC Riverside returned to the win column with its best offensive performance in some time, swatting 50 kills for the eighth time this season and registering 50 assists for the sixth time. UCR also finished the night with 64 digs, reaching 60 for the first time since recording a season-high 90 on October 18 at Cal State Bakersfield.
Sophia Ewalefo recorded her seventh double-double with 20 kills and 12 digs while Makena Tong dished out 37 assists.
UC Riverside sported a 5-0 scoring run early in set one for a positive start to Friday night. Defense took the spotlight, though, as UCR held the home side to .136 hitting through the first media timeout.
UCR was the first to 15 in set one after three straight points, reaching the mark after a Triton attack shot outside the lines. The Highlanders continued forcing errors to build a 19-14 lead before UC San Diego called for time. Vanessa Imoh soon after clinched set one with her third kill of the night off the block.
Jessica Dean recorded her 1,400th career dig in set one, ending her night with 19 digs and the number four spot on the all-time list. Dean, who logged a career-high 30 digs in October's win over the Tritons in Riverside, also became just the sixth Highlander to reach the 1,400 dig mark.
The Highlanders hit .293 in set two, requiring extra play to go up 2-0 in the match. UCR fell behind early, but used a 4-0 run to catch up after a block from Layla Hooks and Andrea Brewer. A tightly-played set saw either team's biggest lead reach three before Ewalefo's 12th kill clinched the set.
UCR got off to a strong start in set three. UC San Diego responded with a spell of offense, but the Highlanders eventually pulled level on another Triton attack error. UC Riverside later went ahead on two occasions, a block from Ewalefo and later on an attack error.
Three more attack errors aided a 4-0 run for UC Riverside to start set four. The Highlanders rallied for a 9-3 stretch to go up 16-11 and hold the Tritons to -.042 at a timeout. Hooks and Brewer again teamed up for the block to put UCR eight points clear with its biggest lead of the night.
UC Riverside held the hosts to .030 hitting in the final set, ultimately forcing the most hitting errors for a Highlander opponent this season (30).
UCR returns home for the final weekend of the regular season, hosting Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, November 20. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 pm on ESPN+, and tickets are available now at GoHighlanders.com/tickets.
