Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
UC Riverside
Weber State drops two matches to open season
8/29/2015 6:25:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Weber State University's volleyball team started its 2015 season Friday dropping one match to UC Riverside and another to Santa Clara.
"Today was a good step forward in our process," head coach Jeremiah Larsen said. "We have to learn how to compete in matches through adversity. It is easy to revert back to old habits when presented with trying moments. We couldn't fight through some of the ghosts of past failures."
Friday morning WSU fell to UC Riverside 3-1 with set scores of 25-23, 24-26, 20-25, 20-25. The Wildcats jumped to a great start by taking the first set. They rolled that momentum into the second set taking it to set point before falling short. Weber State couldn't catch up in the third and fourth sets and UC Riverside claimed the match.
Sophomore libero, Thamires Cavalcanti led Weber State with 24 digs with Taylor Christensen-Kinikini adding 12 and Jesse Hover 11. Christensen-Kinikini ended the morning with 30 assists. Tanisha Langston led the Wildcats with 10 digs and Megan Thompson was right behind with nine.Â
Weber State had 40 kills and a hitting percentage of .50 on the match. UCR and 47 kills on the match with an end hitting percentage of .55. The Wildcats and Highlanders were comparable in attack errors committed with WSU having 22 and UCR 24. Â
Against Santa Clara in the second match of the day the Wildcats fell in a quick three sets. Weber State fell 20-25, 21-25 and 24-26. Langston led the Wildcats with eight kills while Amanda Varley added six and Ciera Borho, Thompson, and Samantha Staker each contributed five. Christensen-Kinikini had 25 assists and Cavalcanti led the night with 11 digs. Hover had eight digs and Langston came through with seven.
The Broncos had 49 kills against the Wildcats 29. Weber State committed 15 attack errors to Santa Clara's 18. The Wildcats had 35 digs to the Broncos 43. Santa Clara's Nikki Hess had a double double with 18 kills and 11 digs.
"This evening we stayed focused on the right tasks and gave an excellent effort," Larsen said. "This was a solid start to the progression of the volleyball program."
Weber State drops to 0-2 on the season and will take on San Jose State, Saturday at noon.Â
