Irvine, Calif. – No. 2 UC Irvine sweeps Cal Baptist, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-21) in the season opener for each team at Crawford Court Wednesday.

UCI's Kevin Carroll led all players with 11 kills and two aces.  Opposite Carson Clark and outside hitter Jeremy Dejno each recorded eight kills with Clark adding seven digs and two aces. Setter Daniel Stork totaled 34 set assists and a team-best 11 digs.

The Anteaters had a 7-1 advantage in aces, while the Lancer topped UCI in digs, 45-37.

Cal Baptist was paced by Kristopher Johnson with seven kills. Connor Metcalfe had a match-high 13 digs, while Michael Cate recorded 10 digs in the loss.

The score was tied 14-14 in the first set before UCI out-scored Cal Baptist 9-4 to take 23-18 lead. The Anteaters used three kills by Kevin Carroll and two each from Dan McDonnell and Jeremy Dejno in the run. A Lancer service error gave UCI the 25-20 first set victory.

In the second set, another Carroll kill combined with a Cal Baptist attack error gave UCI a 16-13 advantage. The Lancers would get as close as 19-16 the rest of the way as a Dejno kill ended the set for the Anteaters, 25-18.

UCI held a 22-15 lead in the third set when Cal Baptist rallied and pulled within 23-21 on a block by Kristopher Johnson and Jonathan Tuttle.  The Anteaters would close out the match on a kill by Carson Clark and a service ace by Kevin Carroll.

UCI will participate in the UCSB/asiscs Invitational Friday and Saturday (Jan. 6-7). The second-ranked Anteaters will face No. 1 BYU in the opening round of the tournament Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the Thunderdome.

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