UC Riverside
4-10,0-3Big West
UC Irvine
4-10,2-1Big West
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 23 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| UC Riverside | 25 | 19 | 19 | 14 | 1 |
Women’s Volleyball Drops Home Opener
10/2/2026 8:24:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Giles’ career high in digs not enough in loss to Anteaters
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside (4-10, 0-3 Big West) opened its home schedule on Friday night at the SRC Arena with a 3-1 defeat (25-23, 19-25, 18-25, 14-25) UC Irvine (4-10, 2-1 Big West).
McKenna Giles reached a new career high with 15 digs in the Big West home opener.
UCI and UCR went back and forth in set one with neither team leading by more than two through the first 15 points. UC Riverside took a 10-7 advantage with an ace from Zeynep Belgutay, and the Highlanders were the first to 15 after a kill from Malia Tanksley.
Casi Doll tied the match at 20 after a pair of unsuccessful UCI blocks to retain serve and UCR took set one, 25-23, after 11 ties and six lead changes.
Madison Pulsipher cut into UC Irvine's quick second set start with her second kill and Andrea Brewer's ace later trimmed the deficit to three. A 5-2 run put UCR within striking distance with two kills from Brewer and one from Pulsipher, but the visitors kept their foot on the pedal for the remainder of the set and tied things at one set apiece.
The Highlanders suffered another slow start in set three, but a fifth kill from Doll disrupted the flow. Andrea Brewer knocked a free ball over the net to keep service for UCR, and Belgutay followed up with her fifth kill to cap a 7-0 Highlander run that kept the home side around. Consecutive errors from UCI brought UCR to within three points at 21-18.
Tanksley recorded her seventh kill early in set four before an attack error tied the set at eight. UCR retained serve after a service error from the Anteaters, then made it two in a row after a block from Belgutay and Pulsipher.
UC Riverside returns to the court on Saturday, October 3, to close out its first Big West home weekend with a 4:00 pm match against UC San Diego on ESPN+. Tickets are available online at www.GoHighlanders.com/tickets.
