Career-High 29 Kills From Ashley Cox Not Enough In Five-Set Loss To Gauchos

Friday, November 16

Riverside, CA

7:00 pm

UC Riverside

7-22, 1-14

UC Santa Barbara

14-16, 7-8

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
UC Santa Barbara	25	16	25	25	15	3
UC Riverside	23	25	27	23	11	2

Photo by: Gabriel L. Acosta

Career-High 29 Kills From Ashley Cox Not Enough In Five-Set Loss To Gauchos

11/16/2012 9:33:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score—UC Santa Barbara 3, UC Riverside 2

Riverside, CA—Freshman Ashley Cox recorded a career-high 29 kills Friday evening, but it wasn't enough as the UC Riverside Volleyball Team lost a five-set heartbreaker, 25-23, 16-25, 25-27, 25-23 and 15-11 to UC Santa Barbara in Big West Conference action at the SRC Arena.

Cox added 15 digs to go along with her 29 kills, while Amanda Vialpando had 18 kills and 17 digs. Emily Borges chipped in with 16 digs and 56 assists, while Tyler Dorsey added seven blocks.

UC Riverside had the early 2-0 lead in set one, but the Gauchos went on a 7-0 run to take a 7-2 lead. With UCSB leading 9-3, the Highlanders mounted a comeback, scoring nine of the next 12 points to tie the set at 12 apiece.

With the set tied at 14, UC Santa Barbara scored four unanswered going up 18-14. UC Riverside again rallied, outscoing the Gauchos 6-1 to take a 20-19 lead.

The teams traded points until UCSB went up at set-point, 24-22. A Vialpando kill pulled the Highlanders within one, 24-23, but an attack error by UCR ended the set with UC Santa Barbara coming away with the 25-23 victory.

The Highlanders fell behind 4-2 in the opening moments of set two, but an Annishia McKoy kill jump-started a 6-0 run as UCR went up 8-4. UC Riverside's lead stayed above three points the remainder of the set, and they closed out the frame scoring five straight to even the match with a 25-16 win.

The Highlanders hit .370 in the set while limiting the Gauchos to .083.

Set three was a thriller, as the teams battled back and forth late in the frame. With UCSB leading 20-17, the Highlanders scored five straight to go up 22-20. A 4-0 Gauchos run then ensued, but block assists from Tyler Dorsey and McKoy sandwiched around a McKoy kill put UC Riverside on top, 25-24.

A UCR error tied the set at 25, but Ashley's Cox's kill lifted the Highlanders to set-point, 26-25, and a Gauchos attack error proved fatal as UC Riverside earned the 27-25 victory.

Neither team led by more than three points in the fourth set as there were 11 tie scores and four lead changes. With UCSB up at set-point, 24-23, consecutive kills from Cox brought the lead to one, 24-23.

That prompted a Gauchos timeout, but UC Santa Barbara emerged from the break and a Katey Thompson killed was the lone point UCSB needed for the win, tying the match at 2-2 with a 25-23 victory.

UCR came out of the gates strong in the fifth set, taking a 4-0 lead with kills from Cox and McKoy, a UCSB error, and Vialpando service ace. UC Santa Barbara closed to 4-3, and the teams traded points four more tie scores through 9-9.

The Gauchos made a run at that point, scoring four straight to open a 13-9 lead. A Vialpando kill stopped the rally, but a UCR error gave UC Santa Barbara match-point, 14-10. Britton Taylor's service error kept the match alive, 14-11, but Leah Sully's kill sealed the 15-11 win.

Cox's 29 kills rank her tied for sixth all-time in program history. The record for most kills in a single match is 36, set by Melanie Jones against Regis on November 14, 1987.

The Highlanders home finale with senior day festivities are slated to begin at 7 pm PT on Saturday, November 17 at the SRC Arena in Riverside.