LONG BEACH, Calif. – UC Riverside fell 3-0 to San Diego State on Friday afternoon at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach. 

Vanessa Imoh made her second straight start and paced the offense early with an efficient .625 hitting percentage in set one. The North Dakota transfer finished Friday's opener in Long Beach with seven kills. 

It was back-to-back kills from Layla Hooks and a Misu Nguyen ace, though, orchestrating a 4-0 scoring run that spurred a set one comeback. The Highlanders got as close as 19-18 following Nguyen's second ace. 

UCR generated its first two points of set two on service errors. The Highlanders called time before consecutive kills from Andrea Brewer and Sophia Ewalefo cut the deficit in half. Imoh and Jessica Dean breathed life into the offense later with a kill and UCR's third ace of the match, followed by a pair of service errors from the Aztecs. 

UC Riverside capitalized on 10 San Diego State offensive errors in set two, including a block assist from Hooks and Ewalefo. 

Brewer came alive in UCR's final set again with three kills on six swings for a .500 clip.

The Highlanders finish their Long Beach trip on Saturday afternoon from the Walter Pyramid with a 4:00 pm first serve against Oregon.