UC Irvine
Delaware
Anteaters Hand Blue Hens Five-Set Loss at Delaware Invitational
September 02, 2011 | Women's Volleyball
NEWARK, Del. --- Aly Squires was the lone Anteater in double-figure kills with 18 to lead UC Irvine to a 3-2 (25-19, 18-25, 25-17, 16-25, 15-9) win over the host Blue Hens Friday at the Delaware Invitational.
Squires notched her second double-double match of the season with 15 digs while libero Kristin Winkler topped all players with a season-high 24 scoops. Alexandra Hauser and Shaina Olsen posted nine kills apiece while setter Mary Carls handed out 38 assists in the win. Shannon Fleming led the Anteaters at the net, tying a career-high with five block assists.
The Anteaters (3-1) edged the Blue Hens in hitting, posting a .213 percentage while holding Delaware to a .133 clip. In the first set, two straight Delaware errors would give UCI an early 11-9 edge and a third unforced error would extend the lead to three at 13-10. The Blue Hens chipped at the deficit but was unable to take a lead. At 17-15, a kill by Carls sparked a four-point UCI run that widened the margin to 19-15. Squires and Olsen would knock the ball down on consecutive plays to close out the first set.
Delaware rebounded in the second frame, out-hitting UCI .256 - .087. The Blue Hens jumped out to a 12-7 lead, prompting UCI to use its first timeout and the Anteaters responded by putting together a 5-1 run to come to within a point at 13-12 on a kill from Pauline Acres. However, Delaware scored seven of the next nine points to take a 20-14 lead as Renee Tomko and Karina Evans sent back an attempt by Squires. UCI continued to battle, shrinking the lead to four at 21-17 but Kim Stewart connected with Tomko on back-to-back plays to tie the match at a set apiece.
UCI used its match-best .286 hitting percentage to claim the third set from Delaware as the Blue Hens managed a .031 percentage. The Anteaters broke away from a close 5-4 game with a four-point rally to lead 9-4 as Carls found three different attackers in the run. Kills by Squires and Fleming kicked off a 6-1 run as UCI built a seven-point lead at 17-10. Delaware never threatened the rest of the way and a kill by Hauser put the set away for UCI.
The fourth frame proved to be a close one as neither team was able to gain a comfortable lead. Katie Hank aced the Anteaters twice from the baseline to give Delaware a two-point lead at 10-8 but a kill from Hauser and an unforced error by Hank tied the score at 10 points apiece. Fleming and Pauline Acres blocked Chelsea Lawrence at the net as UCI took a 12-11 edge but following a set-tying kill by Alissa Alker, the Anteaters then committed errors on four of the next six plays and would eventually fall behind 20-12. The Blue Hens would take the set on a service error by Winkler.
In the deciding set, the Anteaters claimed the early lead at 5-2 following an attack error by Stewart. Delaware tied the score at 5-5 but UCI responded by scoring three straight points with a kill by Acres capping the run. The Blue Hens did not go away, coming to within a point at 9-8 but Carls found Olsen for the kill and Squires followed with consecutive put-aways to give UCI a 12-8 lead. Delaware halted UCI's run with a kill from Hank but Carls went on the offensive with a kill of her own on the ensuing play and Fleming delivered at the net, teaming up with Squires and Carls as the Anteaters scored the final two points to seal the win.
UCI takes on Northern Iowa Saturday at 7:00 a.m. (PT) and then Florida State at 2:00 p.m.
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