UC Irvine Hands Cal State Northridge 3-1 Loss
September 29, 2012 | Women's Volleyball
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. --- UC Irvine (8-9 overall) climbed to 3-1 in the Big West after stunning Cal State Northridge (12-5, 3-2 Big West), 25-17, 25-19, 21-25, 25-19, Saturday at the Matadome.
Four Anteaters posted double-digit kills, led by Marisa Bubica, who put away 16 kills to go along with eight digs. Aly Squires knocked down 13 while Shannon Fleming was solid all the way around the court with 12 kills, eight digs, a team-high six block assists and two aces. Fleming committed just two errors in 18 attempts, leading the Anteaters with a .556 hitting percentage. Sydney Wright rounded out the quartet with 10 kills and Marissa Alvarez put up a double-double with 43 assists and 11 digs. Kristin Winkler led UCI with three aces and 19 digs.
Britney Graff delivered three straight kills to spark the Matadors' five-point run to open the set. However, UCI used a .306 hitting percentage to trim the lead to one at 10-9 and following an attack error by Alvarez, UCI reeled off four conscutive points to take a 13-11 edge. Bubica put away the ball on an overpass to widen the margin to three at 15-12 and then Squires delivered for the 19-14 advantage, forcing a Matador timeout. Fleming aced Mahina Haina as UCI recorded set point and Ella Rosenfeld put the ball down to close out the frame.
After holding CSUN to a .119 hitting clip in the first set, the Anteaters held the Matadors to a .068 percentage in the second frame. The Matadors took the early lead at 5-1 but at 9-7, UCI again used a four-point run and recorded an 11-9 lead on a block by Wright and Rosenfeld. Coming out of a Matador timeout, the duo teamed up again to deny Cleana Stinson and an ensuing unforced error by Stinson opened the margin to four points. Three straight UCI kills gave the Anteaters a six-point lead (19-13) and the team never looked back. Winkler dropped the ball on the Matador side for a kill and an attack error by CSUN closed the frame with the Anteaters up 2-0.
UCI used the momentum to jump out to a 9-4 lead in the third set but this time the Matadors came from behind, out-scoring the Anteaters 4-1 to close the gap to two at 10-8. Trailing 14-10, CSUN went on an eight-point rally to claim an 18-14 lead but UCI responded with four consecutive points to wrestle back a 20-19 edge. The two teams traded points but at 21-21 CSUN capped a four-point run with back-to-back blocks by Sydney Gedryn and Casey Hinger to avoid the sweep.
Neither team was efficient in the fourth set but it was the Anteaters, who took the first significant lead of the set at 13-6, on a pair of kills from Bubica and an ace by Fleming. CSUN came back quickly at 14-11 but the Anteaters held off the Matadors by posting five consecutive points to lead 20-12. Alvarez connected with Bubica for the kill, giving UCI match point at 24-17 and following a two-point spurt by the Matadors, an unforced error by Haina would end the match.
The Anteaters return home to host Pacific and UC Davis next week at Crawford Hall.
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