CEDAR CITY, Utah – UC Riverside pulled out a thrilling 3-2 win over Southern Utah on Thursday night at the America First Event Center in a match that featured 24 ties and 11 lead changes. 

The Highlanders, now 2-2 on the year, avenged last year's sweep to SUU with their first five-set non-conference road victory since 2015. 

UCR took a 15-13 lead into the evening's first timeout after both sides showcased their offense early. Sophia Ewalefo spearheaded a .467 clip early into the break with four kills on five swings, and the Highlanders were the first to 20 in set one after the first of back-to-back attack errors. 

Mia Delahoussaye put down the winning kill in set one after she and Ewalefo combined for 13 of UCR's 17 kills in the frame. Delahoussaye finished the night with 21 kills, a new single-match high for a Highlander in the early season. 

UC Riverside stayed on cruise control to start set two with a 7-2 lead, but Southern Utah found a path back into the contest. A 4-0 Highlander run tied things at 18, but wasn't enough before the Thunderbirds tied the match at one set apiece.

Ewalefo's 10th kill of the evening gave UCR another five-point advantage early in set three and in the midst of a 5-1 run. The senior then pulled out her blocking skills, assisting Evelyn Hendrix at the net to reclaim a 14-8 advantage. 

Southern Utah showed life with a brief burst of offense, but Layla Hooks grazed the inside of the end line for her fourth kill to reclaim momentum and an 18-13 Highlander lead. Delahoussaye capped off a set win for the second time with kill number 17 after SUU trimmed the margin to three. 

UCR played from behind in set four. The Highlanders found scattered pockets of offense with four block assists, including one from Hendrix and Brianna Bowyer. Bowyer later recorded her own solo block before Hooks put one down after subbing in, but SUU proved to be too much and forced a fifth set. 

An equally-weighted set five swung UCR's way after another Ewalefo kill made it 8-5 on a pivotal 3-1 scoring spurt. Southern Utah hung around, but Hendrix and Bowyer's block party reemerged at 13-8 UCR before the Highlanders closed out the win. 

UC Riverside continues play in Utah on Friday morning with an 11:00 am first serve against Sacramento State. Live stats will be available on GoHighlanders.com.