SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- UC Irvine out-blocked the Gauchos, 11-6, but were unable to overcome UC Santa Barbara, falling 25-22, 25-21, 25-20 Friday at the Thunderdome.

Shannon Fleming led all players with seven blocks while Aly Squires was the lone Anteater in double-figure kills with 14. Squires and Kristin Winkler each posted 14 digs and Marissa Alvarez handed out 14 assists.

The Anteaters (9-14, 3-7 Big West) jumped on the Gauchos in the first set, taking a 10-4 lead on a kill by Shaina Olsen. However, UCSB mounted a seven-point run swing the lead in its favor at 11-10. UCI reclaimed the advantage at 17-15 as Fleming and Squires sent back an attempt by Lily Lopez and Sully committed an unforced error. With UCI leading 22-21, Stacey Schmidt tied the score for the Gauchos. An attack error by Olsen, followed by a kill from Sherrard put UCSB at set point and Nielson and Lopez provided the block on the ensuing play to win the first set.

UCSB took the early lead in the second set as a kill from Sully put the Gauchos ahead at 15-9. The Anteaters rallied to shrink the margin to three points at 15-12 on a kill from Squires but UCSB scored a point on four straight plays for the 19-12 advantage. UCI continued to battle and answered with a 5-0 run to come to within two at 21-19 on the block by Alexandra Hauser and Pauline Acres. However, at 22-20, UCI committed two unforced errors and UCSB would go to Schmid for the winning point.

The third set proved to be a tight one with UCI working to take a 10-7 lead on the block by Fleming and Squires. UCI was unable to hold back the Gauchos, who knotted the score at 11 and then scored three consecutive points for the 14-11 lead. The Anteaters rallied with their own three-point run to close the gap to one at 16-15, but following a Gaucho timeout, UCSB went to Lopez and Sully on back-to-back plays to lead 18-15. The gap widened to five at 23-18 and Nielson would turn to Lopez to seal the match.          

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