THIS WEEK IN ANTEATER VOLLEYBALL
Active Ankle Challenge
Sept. 16: UC Irvine vs. Utah State - 7:00 p.m. (Bren Center)
Sept. 17: UC Irvine vs. Idaho - 7:00 p.m. (Crawford Court)
Livestats for UCI's home matches are available at www.ucirvinesports.com.
UCI ENTERTAINS UTAH STATE, IDAHO IN HOME OPENER: The Anteaters (4-4) welcome two former Big West members this weekend as UCI hosts Utah State Friday (Sept. 16) in its home opener at the Bren Events Center at 7:00 p.m. The Anteaters then face Idaho Saturday (Sept. 17) at Crawford Court at 7:00 p.m. Both matches are part of the Active Ankle Challenge.
MATCHES FREE ON BIG WEST TV: This week's home matches against Utah State and Idaho will be broadcast free on Big West TV.
WINKLER SETS UCI RECORD, NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Libero Kristin Winkler (Los Altos/St. Francis HS) was voted the Big West Player of the Week after a pair of strong performances over the weekend. Winkler set a UCI single-match record with 34 digs against Portland State, surpassing her previous career-high of 32 digs notched in 2010 against Cal Poly. She also tied what was then the third-best single-match mark in the Anteater annals with 31 digs against New Mexico. It is the first time Winkler posted 30 or more digs in the same weekend and with the effort climbs to fifth in the UCI career records with 1,173 digs.
SQUIRES, WINKLER NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Aly Squires (Santa Ynez/Santa Ynez Valley Union HS) and Winkler each earned spots on the Comcast/Sheraton Lobo Invitational All-Tournament team to help the team finish as runners-up.
IN THE BIG WEST: UC Irvine is third in the Big West in digs with a 15.53 average and sixth in aces at 0.91.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES
Kristin Winkler was named the Big West Player of the Week and earned a spot on the Lobo Invitational All-Tournament team.
o Career-high and UCI single-match record 34 kills against Portland State
o Tied what was the third-best single-match mark of 31 kills against New Mexico
o Climbed to fifth in the UCI career records with 1173 digs
Aly Squires was also named to the Lobo Invitational All-Tournament team.
o Career-high 26 kills and 20 digs against Portland State for her first 20-20 match
o Double-double (14 kills/12 digs) against New Mexico
o Has four double-double matches this season
o Second all-tournament honor this season
Shannon Fleming also had a strong tournament at the net for the Anteaters.
o Career-high and tied the UCI second-best single-match record with 11 block assists against Portland State
o Tied a career-high with 10 kills against New Mexico
o Was errorless against Montreal, putting away nine of 20 attempts for a .450 clip.
o Leads the team with 37 blocks
Alexandra Hauser recorded a season-high 11 kills against New Mexico.
o Tied season-high four block assists against New Mexico
o Fired three aces against Portland State
o Has recorded an ace in four straight matches
Shaina Olsen posted a career-high 14 digs against Portland State.
o Added 14 kills for a double-double match
Mary Carls tied a personal-best in assists, picked up a career-high in digs.
o Handed out 42 assists to tie her personal-high which was recorded against Akron last season
o Career-high 16 digs against New Mexico
Molly Yoder had a career-high 22 digs against Portland State.
Pauline Acres also had a personal-high in digs with 16 against Portland State.
o Career-high six blocks against New Mexico and Portland State
Arielle Manz posted her best hitting percentage against Montreal, putting away 10 of 21 attempts with just one error for a .429 clip.
SERIES RECORDS: UCI owns a 20-9 series record against Utah State and has won the last three matches against the Aggies. The two teams last met in 2004 when the Anteaters handed Utah State a pair of 3-1 losses in conference action.
Idaho holds a 10-7 edge over UCI but the Anteaters also have taken the last three contests. The Anteaters and Vandals last met in 2010 with UCI recording a sweep over Idaho at the Nike Cougar Invitational at Washington State.
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