Nov. 29, 2013
Rainbow Wahine 3 – Highlanders 0
While shoppers fought for the last televisions on sale, the UCR women’s volleyball team spent their Black Friday at the Student Recreation Center Arena. The Highlanders faced the Big West Conference-leading and 12th-ranked Hawaii. On senior night, the home team kept the first and third sets close but the Rainbow Wahine took the match, 25-20, 25-15 and 25-18.
Before the start of the game, the Highlanders celebrated senior night, honoring the two graduating seniors of 2014, Jessica Moncayo and Annishia McKoy.
The Highlanders opened up the first set with an early 5-1 lead and a flurry of kills and blocks. After a timeout, the Rainbow Wahine tallied three kills in a row combined with an attack error from Ashley Cox, which knotted the score at 5-5. The two teams tied four times up to the 13th point, but Hawaii shook their jet lag off and scored six consecutive points. Cox answered back with a kill and UCR scored on three more occasions, but would go on to lose the set, 25-20.
UCR showed some competitive spirit at the start of the second set. The score was tied until the fifth point with kills from Tyler Dorsey and Cox. From there, the Rainbow Wahine scored four in a row until Fabiana Rosas answered with a kill. Rosas then recorded another kill, while Hawaii gave up two attack errors to pull UC Riverside within three, 12-9. After a Hawaii timeout, the road team cruised to five straight points. UCR benefited from five Hawaii errors, but Hawaii finished the set with a block and multiple kills to take the set, 25-15.
The third and final set is where both teams elevated their play and showed consistency. UCR jumped out to an early 10-7 lead behind two kills by McKoy and one kill apiece by Dorsey, Rosas and Lindsay Hornsby. The Big West Conference’s top dog, however, reeled off three straight to knot the game at 10 apiece. On the 11th and final tie, 14-14, the Rainbow Wahine again went on a 3-0 run to take a 17-14 lead. Though UCR cut the deficit to one at 17-16, they couldn’t stop Hawaii from sealing their 23rd win of the season, 25-18.
The UCR women’s volleyball team finished the season 2-26 overall and 1-15 in conference play.
