Box Score IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine out-played UC Santa Barbara at the net, posting a 24-6 block assist advantage as the Anteaters opened Big West Conference play with a 25-14, 19-25, 25=-23, 28-26 win Friday night at the Bren Events Center. The win snapped UCI's (6-8, 1-0) six-match losing streak against the Gauchos (7-8, 0-1), capturing a victory for the first time since 2008.
The duo of Ella Rosenfeld and Sydney Wright combined for 14 block assists with Rosenfeld tying a career-high with eight to lead all players. Wright also had a personal-best, logging six block assists. The freshmen were errorless offensively as Wright put away eight of 30 attempts (.267) and Rosenfeld converted on six of 12 attempts to hit .500. Aly Squires paced the offense with 15 kills and picked up 15 digs for a double-double while Marisa Bubica recorded 13 kills. Shannon Fleming added 12 kills, a pair of aces and four block assists in the win while Marissa Alvarez also posted a double-double, handing out 47 assists to go along with 13 digs. Kristin Winkler scooped up 26 digs to lead UCI while adding two aces.
The Anteaters came out firing in the first set, hitting .361 and did not commit an error in the frame. UCI sped out to a 10-4 lead and extended the margin to 10 points at 19-10 as Wright tooled off the UCSB block. The Gauchos never threatened, hitting .070, and after Bubica and Rosenfeld sent back an attempt by Kara Sherrard, Wright nailed a cross-court kill to close out the set.
Roles were reversed in the second frame as the Gauchos hit .351 and held UCI to a .138 clip. UCSB jumped out to a 10-4 lead and enjoyed a nine-point margin at 17-9 following a shot by Leah Sully that hit the back corner. UCI trimmed the lead to six as Bubica's off-balance poke fell in the middle of the Gauchos' side at 21-15. However, UC Santa Barbara maintained control and Alex Barbeau posted a solo block to tie the match at a set apiece.
UCI rebounded in the third set with a .306 hitting percentage but was unable to pull away from the Gauchos. The two teams battled with the UCSB taking a two-point lead at 16-14 on a UCI service error only to see the Anteaters tie the score at 16-16 on an ace from Fleming. At 17-17, UCI scored three consecutive points to work a 20-17 edge but the Gauchos would rally to close the gap to one at 21-20 as Katey Thompson and Britton Taylor stopped Squires at the net. After trading points, the block of Ali Santi and Taylor denied UCI again to knot the score at 23-23. However, Fleming and Alvarez returned the favor, sending back an attempt by Sully to give the Anteaters set point and Alvarez connected with Fleming for the slide kill as UCI took a 2-1 set lead.
UC Santa Barbara opened the fourth frame with an 11-8 lead but the Anteaters went on a 7-1 run to turn the deficit into a 15-12 advantage. UCI extended the lead to four at 18-14 as Sherrard's swing went wide but Thompson highlighted a three-point run for the Gauchos with a pair of kills as UCSB came to within a point at 18-17. It was Thompson again with the kill, tying the score at 19 points apiece and the two teams traded points until at 26-26, Alvarez connected with Bubica for the kill down the line. Alvarez made her one service winner count on match point as the setter aced Sully to shut down the Gauchos.
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