On Friday, Oct. 4, UCR Women’s volleyball (5-9) team lost to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (11-5) in disappointing fashion. The final score of the match was 3-0, favoring the Mustangs.
Cal Poly had the upper hand all game long, forcing the Highlanders to play from behind. UCR’s defensive sets were unable to contain the surging offensive of the Mustangs, with Cal Poly junior outside hitter Maia Dvoracek leading the way with 10 kills. In addition, Cal Poly’s senior outside hitters Nikki Jackson and Jessica McRoskey added eights kills apiece.
The Highlanders were only able to score 12, 16 and 16 points in their three sets. For the Highlanders, freshmen outside hitter Amarchi Osuji and Ayanna Kimbrough led the team with four kills each. Junior setter Morgan Kline had 13 assists and six digs, but it wasn’t enough for the Highlanders to defeat the Mustangs.
Since 1973, the Highlanders have played the Mustangs 28 times, with UCR only winning 10 of those matches. UC Riverside’s last win against Cal Poly was in November of 2013, where the Highlanders got the 3-2 win in San Luis Obispo.
This is the second loss in a row for the struggling Highlanders as they have lost four of their past five games. Their only win during that stretch came against conference rival Cal State Fullerton (8-6) on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
Up next, UCR will face off against Cal State Northridge (5-9) on Thursday, Oct. 10 in Riverside.
