UC Irvine Golden On Think Pink Night As Anteaters Sweep Titans
October 19, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- On a night where the past and present met, UC Irvine posted a 7-1 ace advantage and held Cal State Fullerton to a .098 hitting percentage, sweeping the Titans, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20 Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The sweep in conference play was a first for the Anteaters, who improved to 11-10 (2-5 Big West) overall and captured back-to-back wins for the first time since Sept. 20.
Prior to the match, the Anteaters honored members of the 1988 team that was the first women's volleyball squad to earn an NCAA Tournament berth and dedicated the match to alumna Kris Burke, who lost her battle with breast cancer this past June.
Marisa Bubica led all players with 15 kills and three aces. Shannon Fleming chipped in two aces and put up a match-leading six block assists while Shelley Anderson notched her second double-double of the weekend with 36 assists and a match-best 15 digs. Molly Yoder also scooped up double-digit digs with 12 while Cassidy Pickrell was errorless on the night, putting away eight of 22 attempts. Aly Squires also recorded eight kills while posting seven digs and five block assists.
UCI opened the match by hitting an efficient .310 in the first set. The Anteaters built a three point lead at 14-11 following an ace by Fleming. Following a CSF timeout Bre Moreland hit long as the Anteaters extended their lead to four (15-11). Fleming tipped an assist from Anderson high over the Titan block to give UCI its largest lead of set at six (20-14). Keeping the unforced errors to a minimum, UCI went to Manz for a kill down the middle and then Anderson dished to Squires for the cross-court kill to close the set.
The Anteaters continued applying the pressure and sped out to an 8-3 lead in the second set. CSF nearly closed the gap to two but a key pick-up by Hannah Nabbout led to a cross court slam by Pickrell to maintain a three-point edge (10-7). That dig fueled the Anteaters, who then got a kill from Squires and an ace from Fleming to reclaim a five point led at 13-8, forcing the Titans to use their final timeout. CSF rallied to get back into the match at 13-11 but a UCI kill and an attack error by the Titans saw the difference extend to four once again. Unforced errors hurt the Titans' efforts as Moreland and Faith Rockmore both hit (21-14). Mackenzi Campbell aced McKenna Painton (23-15), Fleming knocked down the ball on the slide (24-16) and Bubica crushed a cross-court kill to seal the second set.
The Anteaters jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the third as Manz and Squires stuffed Leah Stevens. Pickrell hit the deep corner for a kill and the Anteater triple block of Anderson, Fleming and Bubica stopped Moreland for the 11-6 lead. UCI's block continued to produce with Manz and Squires sending back a Alyse Hensley attempt as UCI looked to pull away at 16-10. However, the Titans crept back into the match on a kill by Moreland and an attack error by UCI, prompted an Anteater timeout at 19-16. UCI held off the Titans and Manz smacked a kill down the middle for match point. A tough serve from Hensley led to a broken play but Squires powered the ball through CSF's block to end the match.
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