UC Irvine
UC Riverside
UC Irvine Overcomes Slow Start To Collect First Big West Win
October 18, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine took some time warming up but was red-hot by the end, hitting .406 and .467 in the final two sets and defeating UC Riverside, 3-1 (26-24, 21-25, 25-15, 25-19) Friday at Crawford Court. The win was the first conference victory for the Anteaters, who pull even at 10-10 (1-5 Big West) on the year.
Shannon Fleming had a career night, leading all players with a personal-best .636 hitting percentage. The middle blocker put away eight of 11 attempts with just one error and tied a career-high with a match-leading four aces. Fleming also led the effort at the net, leading all players with six block assists. Marisa Bubica led the offensive charge, with 19 kills. Cassidy Pickrell knocked down 15 kills while Aly Squires posted 11 kills to go along with seven digs and three block assists. Shelley Anderson posted a double-double with 46 assists and 13 digs while Arden Davis also picked up a baker's dozen in the win.
UC Riverside edged out to a 4-1 lead but back to back errors on the Highlanders trimmed the deficit to one (4-3). The Highlanders opened a four -point margin on a kill from Anishia McKoy and UCR then out-scored the Anteaters, 5-1, to take a comfortable 15-7 advantage. UCI responded with four unanswered points to come to within four points at 15-11. A diving, one-handed dig by Hannah Nabbout resulted in a Pickrell kill to hightlight a second three-point run as UCI edged closer at 19-16. UCI continued to put on the pressure and reached and caught the Highlanders at 23-23 on consecutive attack errors by Tyler Dorsey. Bubica aced maddie Hubbell and after Squires went with the roll shot to give UCI set point. Pickrell followed by slamming a kill down the line to win the capture the first set.
Fleming crushed an overpass as the Anteaters took an early 9-6 lead in the second, forcing a UCR timeout. The Highlanders rallied to cut the margin to two at 11-9 but Arielle Manz and Anderson stopped Cristina Marietta on the next play for the three point edge. A blocking error on Squires and the block assists by Nae Bender and McKoy was followed by a kill from Fabiana Rosas as the Highlanders forced an Anteater timeout with a 16-15 lead. UCR delivered a pair of kills and UCI was called for a net violation twice as the Anteaters fell behind 21-17. Dorsey missed on the slide as UCI pulled to within three at 23-20 but a service error and a net violation by the Anteaters tied the match at a set apiece.
The Anteaters were clicking on all cylinders in the third as the team hit .406. UCI, which was held to just four block assists in the first two frames, use the its blocking game to take an 11-7 lead. Fleming delivered three aces to spark a 4-0 run and UCI enjoyed its largest lead of the match at 20-10 following an attack error by Lindsay Hornsby. Pickrell tooled the ball off the UCR block to give UCI set point and Fleming connected with Anderson on the slide to end the frame.
The two teams battled in the fourth and Fleming aced Sandy Fung with a serve down the line to give the Anteaters a two-point lead at 9-7. With UC Riverside trailing 12-11, UCI went on a 5-1 run as the Highlanders asked to use their final timeout at 17-12. UCR never threatened and following a final kill by McKoy, Anderson went to Pickrell again, who knocked the ball off the block to seal the victory.
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