IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine suffered its first loss to UC Riverside since 2005, falling 25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-15 Wednesday in a Big West Conference match at Crawford Court. The loss snaps UCI's 11-match win streak against the Highlanders.
Aly Squires tied a career-high .400 hitting percentage, putting away 15 of 35 attempts with just one error. Arielle Manz added seven kills while Kristin Winkler led all players with 17 digs and climbed to No. 2 in the UCI career dig records with 1,504, passing former Anteater Kari Pestolesi, who had 1,491 from 2007-2010. Mary Carls posted a personal-best in aces with three while handing out 16 assists.
UC Riverside used a .321 hitting percentage to win the first set, holding UCI to a .138 clip. The Highlanders took a 10-6 lead on a block by Bianca Endersby and Annishia McKoy but the Anteaters rebounded to close the gap to one at 11-10 on the attack error by Amanda Vialpando. UCI then used a three-point rally, capped by an ace from Carls to take a 15-14 edge but kills by Megan Reza and Endersby swung the lead back to UC Riverside. At 19-19, the Highlanders reeled off five straight points to claim a 24-19 advantage and Katie Meyer went to Vialpando for the game-winning point.
UCI improved its efficiency in the second set, hitting .226 while holding UCR to .190. Leading 9-7, UCI scored three straight, keyed by the Anteater block of Taylor Smith and Shannon Fleming for the 12-7 lead. The margin widened to six (16-10), this time on the blocking duo of Manz and Shaina Olsen. Riverside would come to within four points but Olsen's solo block on McKoy tied the match at a set apiece.
Unforced errors hurt the Anteaters in the third set as UCR used a four-point run to take a 10-4 lead. UCI responded with its own four-point run, capped by a baseline winner from Carls to shrink the gap to 13-11. However, the Anteaters were unable to put the ball away as UC Riverside out-scored UCI 4-0 to work a 21-14 lead. A service error from Carls gave the Highlanders set point and Meyers found Shelby LeDuff for the cross-court kill, giving UCR a 2-1 set lead.
It was Riverside again to take an early 13-9 lead in the fourth set on a kill from Vialpando. Following an Anteater timeout, the Highlanders continued on the offensive, outscoring UCI 6-1 to open up an 18-11 advantage. UCR added another five-point rally to lead by 10 (23-13) and Meyers connected with Vialpando for the win.
______________________________________________________________________
For UC Irvine Athletics ticket information, please call (949) 824-5000 or e-mail athletics.tickets@uci.edu. For more information click here.
For information on how you can help support UC Irvine Athletics, please call (949) 824-6933 or e-mail aaf@uci.edu. For additional information, click here.
You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
