UC Irvine Falls In Five Sets To Central Michigan
November 26, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine held a 2-1 set lead but was unable to hold off the rallying Chippewas as the Anteaters fell 16-25, 25-11, 16-25, 37-35, 15-10 to Central Michigan to close out the 2011 season.
All four seniors started on Senior Night for the Anteaters (10-19), who were led by sophomore Aly Squires' 17-kill performance. Pauline Acers knocked down 10 kills while Lauren Allen, listed as a junior but a senior academically, logged her first double-double with 15 assists and 10 digs. Alexandra Hauser had three kills playing on the outside and also totaled two aces and four block assists. Alexandra Bubica saw action in all five frames and picked up two digs. Shannon Fleming and Arielle Manz led UCI at the net with six block assists and eight kills apiece while Kristin Winkler led the team with 18 digs.
UCI worked to build a 13-9 in the first set on a service ace from Fleming, who fired a career-high four baseline winners in the match. However, the Chippewas reeled off four consecutive points, capped by an ace from Samantha Brawley to catch UCI at 13-13. The Anteaters reclaimed the lead on the next play on Lindsey Dulude's attack error and then out-scored CMU 7-1 to lead 21-14. Fleming put the ball away on an over-pass for set point and Kaitlyn McIntyre's attempt would go long.
It was all Central Michigan in the second frame as CMU used a 4.84 hitting percentage and raced out to a 12-4 lead. The Chippewas led by as many as 13 (21-8) and McIntyre delivered a solo block on the Anteaters to tie the match at a game apiece.
The Anteaters rebounded in the third frame, using a three-point run to extend a slim 10-9 lead to four on an ace by Hauser. Central Michigan cut the lead in half at 14-12 but UCI was able to maintain a three-point margin. Manz crushed an over-pass as UCI took a 20-16 lead and the Anteaters scored the final five points with Fleming acing the Chippewas twice in the rally.
The fourth set proved to be an epic battle. CMU jumped out of the gate with four straight points but UCI clawed to shave the lead to two at 9-7 as Winkler's ace was followed by an attack error by Danielle Gotham. The Chippewas answered with three unanswered points to take a five-point lead at 12-7 but UCI closed the gap to one at 20-19 with a four-point run, including back-to-back aces from Winkler. Consecutive attack errors by CMU knotted the score at 22-22 and the two teams would trade points, tying the ledger a total of 14 times. At 35-35, Danielle Gotham first paired up with Katie Schuette and then Val Deweerd to deliver back-to-back blocks and force a deciding set.
The momentum continued for Central Michigan, which took an early 5-1 lead in the final frame as Brawley served up one of her four aces. The Anteaters chipped at the lead and cut it to three at 8-5 on a Chippewa service error but Kelly Maxwell went to Gotham for a kill and Dulude aced the Anteaters to claim a five-point advantage at 10-5. UCI rallied for three points with consecutive kills from Squires but Schultz knocked down an over-pass on the final play to seal the win.
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