ORLANDO – UC Riverside continued its stay in Orlando on Saturday morning at The Venue at UCF with a 3-0 defeat to Chattanooga. 

UC Riverside's hot start was derailed by a 6-2 Chattanooga run, but UCR turned the tide with a 6-0 run to take a 22-21 lead. Makena Tong's first ace and a sixth kill from Sophia Ewalefo powered UCR back into the match. 

The Highlanders fought off four set points before Chattanooga took a 1-0 set lead. 

UC Riverside closed the gap in set two and staved off a pair of match points before falling, 25-22. A 7-3 Highlander run late in the set saw them come within a point after a kill from Evelyn Hendrix forced a timeout. 

Andrea Brewer refused to let UCR go down easily in set three. The junior outside hitter completed a 3-0 run with back-to-back kills, pulling her side to within three. 

Brewer recorded all five of her kills in set three during her season debut, while Brianna Bowyer notched double-digit kills for the second straight match with 10. 

UC Riverside finishes its first weekend of 2025 on Sunday morning at 10:00 am PT against tournament host Central Florida on ESPN+.