RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside (9-18, 5-12 Big West) kicked off the final week of the 2025 season on a rainy Thursday night at the SRC Arena with a 3-0 win over Cal State Bakersfield (6-23, 3-14 Big West). 

Vanessa Imoh's career-high six blocks highlighted UCR's holding the Roadrunners to .094 hitting. Imoh led UCR to holding a Big West opponent under .100 for the first time since 2016.

UC Riverside came out hot with a .600 hitting clip early. The Highlanders extended an 8-5 lead with an ace from Layla Hooks before Bakersfield called for time. UCR held a wire-to-wire lead in set one while going error-free at the net through its first 18 attacks. 

Andrea Brewer and Sophia Ewalefo combined for 10 of the hosts' 14 set one kills, while as a unit, UCR held Bakersfield to .148 hitting. 

The all-around quality display continued with an 8-3 lead to start set two. UC Riverside immediately put the Roadrunners' hitters in the negative and cruised to an 11-4 advantage at the set's first stoppage. UCR forced another Roadrunner timeout at 17-9 after a 4-0 run that included two attack errors. 

Bakersfield wouldn't let the sweep happen easily with a .208 hitting percentage in set three, but UCR persisted and got the job done to earn its second straight win.

Makena Tong solidified her ninth double-double of the season in set three and finished with 23 assists and 13 digs. Also in her penultimate college match, Jessica Dean moved up to third all-time on the career digs list with 14. 

UC Riverside will close its 2025 season on Saturday, November 22, with a 4:00 pm first serve against CSUN at the SRC Arena. Tickets are available now at GoHighlanders.com/tickets.