UC Riverside
4-14,0-7Big West
UC Santa Barbara
9-9,5-2Big West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Riverside | 18 | 13 | 22 | 0 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Women’s Volleyball Falls in Three at UC Santa Barbara
10/16/2026 9:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Hughes inches close to season high as Highlanders fall in Santa Barbara
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Riverside (4-14, 0-7 Big West) kicked off its annual Central Coast road trip on Friday night at the UCSB Events Center with a 3-0 setback (18-25, 13-25, 22-25) at UC Santa Barbara (9-9, 5-2 Big West).
Nicole Hughes hit .714 (6-1-7) in the outing, falling one kill short of tying a season high. The Highlanders continued showcasing their recent blocking success and have now averaged 4.8 block assists through their last 20 sets played.
Gaucho errors pulled UCR out of a slow start. Malia Tanksley picked up two early blocks, one solo and one an assist with Evelyn Hendrix, and the Highlanders got to within 7-8 on a Santa Barbara service error.
Maya Barron and Hughes interrupted the hosts' offense with a kill apiece in set one, and defense later secured four points out of a 5-1 Highlander run. UC Riverside sided out with another kill from Hughes at 17-19, but the Gauchos went on to claim set one.
Hughes went for three kills on three swings in set one.
UCR's blockers retained serve early in set two each time the Gauchos punched back. Hendrix, fresh off a career-high 10 blocks last weekend, led UCR to a 4-1 lead in set two with a pair of block assists while Tanksley's first kill made it 6-5. Santa Barbara pulled ahead later with a string of kills.
Hughes got UCR back into the fray with a kill before she and Hendrix went up for the block to cut the margin to 10-13, but Santa Barbara overpowered the visitors for the 25-13 set two victory.
UC Riverside came back to tie set three at four apiece with a block assist from Tanksley and Zeynep Belgutay, who returned to the rotation. The Highlanders kept things just as close as the first half of set two, shrinking the deficit to 11-9 out of a timeout after forcing a Gaucho attack error.
A Juliette D'Eliseo ace brought UCR to within one at 12-11, and Hughes later tied the set at 13 with her sixth kill. The Highlanders really got into the weeds of set two after trading points with Santa Barbara. Barron tied the set at 15 with a kill, and D'Eliseo brought the visitors to within one with her second kill.
Elena Kasavica put UCR within two behind three straight aces before the Gauchos countered with three straight of their own and eventually closed the match.
UC Riverside wraps up the weekend with a quick turnaround on Saturday, October 17, facing Cal Poly at Mott Athletics Center. First serve is scheduled for 4:00 pm on ESPN+.
