October 18, 2013
Anteaters 3 – Highlanders 1
The fall blues continues for the women’s volleyball team as the Highlanders (1-16, 0-5) fell in four sets (26-24, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19) to Big West Conference foe UC Irvine in a game that featured 20 tied scores and five lead changes.
Freshmen Cristina Maietta and Fabiana Rosas tallied 12 kills apiece for the visiting UCR team, which has seen a steady improvement since the onset of the season. The Anteaters, however, led by a match-high 19 kills from Marisa Bubica, proved to be the stronger and better squad on the night. UC Irvine (10-10, 1-5) collected its first conference win of the 2013 season while UCR continues to hunt for an elusive Big West victory.
The Highlanders opened the match on fire as they used an array of kills from Annishia McKoy and Tyler Dorsey to build a 9-2 run that ballooned to a 15-7 lead. During that span, the visiting team also benefited from several Irvine errors. The Anteaters responded, however, as they reeled off four consecutive points to inch within three points at 16-19.
The home squad continued to pressure the young UCR team and eventually tied the contest at 23-23 behind a pair of Dorsey errors. A late kill gave Riverside a sliver of hope before consecutive UC Irvine attacks sealed the set, 26-24, in the Anteaters’ favor.
During the period, UCR kept a positive kill-to-error ratio (7-6), but only hit .026. Irvine recorded 16 kills to 10 errors and completed 62 percent of their sideouts.
UCR was down early as the Anteaters started the second set aggressively behind several Bubica missiles to lead 15-12. The Highlanders won seven of nine points to take a 16-15 advantage behind three Rosas kills, which prompted a UC Irvine timeout.
UC Riverside continued their charge, opening a five-point lead at 22-17 before securing the set, 25-21, behind a net violation. The Highlanders outhit their opponent .278 to .242 while tallying 15 kills for the set compared to Irvine’s 12.
The third set saw the Anteaters clicking on all cylinders as the home team built an 11-7 lead to a 20-10 score behind three service aces and a slew of blocks. The Highlanders were never given a chance to pierce Irvine’s attacking game as they lost the set, 25-15. UC Irvine hit a remarkable .406 for the frame and only errored once.
With only one chance for redemption, UCR opened the set competitively as the opening moments saw the teams trade seven ties. UC Riverside, however, fell behind 12-17 as the Anteaters continued to pressure the ball. After a McKoy kill pulled the visiting team to within four at 18-22, Irvine sealed the set, 25-19, earning their first Big West Conference victory of the year.
October 19, 2013
49ers 3 – Highlanders 0
The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team cruised to a 25-16, 25-15, 25-8 win over visiting UC Riverside Saturday night. The 49ers never trailed in the first and third sets as they improved to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in conference. UC Riverside fell to 1-17 on the season without a single conference win in six attempts.
The first set started ominously with three straight Highlander errors and never got any better from that point. Long Beach led by as many as 10 points and UCR couldn’t get anything clicking as they lost the set, 25-16.
The second set saw UCR open a 6-2 lead behind a pair of Annishia McKoy kills. The 49ers, however, rallied to win five of the next seven points to cut UCR’s lead to one then reeled off six straight to lead 19-14. A few moments later Long Beach State continued their haul as they wrapped up the set, 25-15. The Highlanders recorded nine kills to 11 errors for a hitting percentage of -.056.
UC Riverside offered little resistance in the final set as they were outplayed en route to a 25-8 scoreline for the set and another loss for the season.
No Highlander recorded more than five kills. One of the team’s top attackers, Ashley Cox, did not play in either contest over the weekend.
UC Riverside returns home for a pair of games against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo beginning on Oct. 25.
