Anteaters Fall To Aztecs' Late Charge
October 16, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine was unable to hold off the Aztecs, falling to San Diego State 25-21, 25-22, 28-26 Tuesday at the Bren Events Center.
The match proved to be a battle with both teams even in kills (45-44) and digs (66-64). Kristin Winkler and SDSU's Kristi Jackels were impressive in the back row with each libero picking up 26 digs apiece in three sets. The Aztecs won at the net, posting eight team blocks to UCI's two and edged UCI in aces, 8-5.
The Anteaters built a 14-11 lead in the first set on a kill from Aly Squires, who led all players with 16 kills. However San Diego State chipped at the deficit, eventually cutting the lead to one at 17-16 as Andrea Hannasch blocked a Squires attempt. An unforced error by Raegan Shelton gave UCI a two-point edge (18-16) but Hannasch combined a kill and a service ace to tie the match at 18-18, prompting the first timeout of the frame by UCI. Marissa Alvarez connected with Marisa Bubica out of the break but the two teams traded points until at 20-20, the Aztecs scored three straight to take a 23-20 lead. Alvarez found Squires for the cross-court kill, halting SDSU's run but Chaiymin Steel put the ball down on the ensuing play and Squires' next attempt fell long to close out the set.
Bubica opened the second frame serving the first five points as UCI took a 4-1 lead following three unforced errors by the Aztecs. San Diego State went on a run again, scoring five consecutive to claim a 6-4 advantage. The see-saw battle continued and at 14 points apiece, Steel's attack error was followed by one of Hannah Nabbout's three aces for the 16-14 edge. A three-point run by UCI extended the lead to four at 19-15 and the Anteaters looked to have control of the set at 21-17 following an attack error by Hannasch. However, the Aztecs mounted a late charge, out-scoring UCI 8-1 to steal away set No. 2.
San Diego State opened the final frame at 5-1 but UCI battled to take an 11-7 lead on a kill from Bubica, who finished the match with 14 kills and a .333 (14k – 1e – 11 ta) hitting percentage. The lead switched in favor of the Aztecs at 16-14 on back-to-back kills from Shelton but UCI reclaimed the advantage again on a four-point run (19-17). The Aztecs delivered a key block on Shannon Fleming to pull the match even at 19-19 and the two teams would trade points. At 26-26, Courtney Vaccarello aced the Anteaters for match point and Squires' attack on the ensuing play went out of bounds to end the match.
UCI hosts Long Beach State Saturday in Big West action at Crawford Court at 7:00 PM.
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