THIS WEEK
No. 2 UC Irvine at No. 4 Pepperdine · Tuesday, Mar. 12 · 7:00 p.m. · Firestone Fieldhouse
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No. 2 UC Irvine at No. 14 USC · Friday, Mar. 15 · 7:00 p.m. · Lyon Center
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QUICK HITS
No. 2 UC Irvine battles No. 4 Pepperdine Tuesday (Mar. 12) at 7:00 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse before traveling to No. 14 USC Friday for a 7:00 p.m. contest at the Lyon Center.
This week marks the Anteaters' final two regular season road matches. UCI will end the season with the final six regular-season matches at home.
Tuesday's match-up features Pepperdine who is No. 2 in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.320) and the Anteaters who are third (.311). In MPSF matches-only, UCI is second in opponents hitting percentage, limiting foes to a .246 mark.
Pepperdine, who is 10-6 overall and 9-6 in the MPSF, is coming off a sweep of Hope International.
Pepperdine holds a 37-18 advantage in the series records, but the Anteaters have won the last eight meetings, including a 3-0 sweep in Irvine to open the MPSF schedule.
Zack La Cavera hit .577 recording 16 kills in 26 attempts with one error. Kevin Tillie added eight kills, while Collin Mehring led the Anteaters with six block assists as UCI won the battle at the net, 13 – 8.5. Kyle Gerrans and Maurice Torres each had 10 kills to lead the Waves.
USC is 4-11 overall and in the MPSF with one the its wins a 3-0 victory over the Anteaters in the Bren in January. The Trojans enter the match on a three-match losing skid.
The Trojans are 28-24 all-time versus UCI.
Tillie paced the Anteaters against USC with nine kills and four block assists followed by La Cavara with seven kills, an ace and four block assists in two games. USC was led by Robert Feathers with 12 kills and a team-high six block assists. Setter Micah Christenson totaled 39 set assists, seven digs and five block assists, while Alex Slaught and Tanner Jansen added eight kills apiece.
UCI is 16-4 overall and 13-4 in the MPSF. The 16 wins are the most by a team nationally this season and the 13 league wins are second most in the MPSF behind BYU's 14.
UCI remained at No. 2 this week in the AVCA Coaches Poll. The Anteater have held the No. 1 ranking for seven weeks this season. The Anteaters have been ranked in the nation's top 15 for 130 consecutive weeks.
UCI moved back up to No. 2 in the Volleyball Magazine Top 10 poll this week.
In the lone match last week, UCI took down No. 3 Long Beach State, 3-1 on the road.
All-American Kevin Tillie posted a season-high 23 kills, while outside hitter Jeremy Dejno tied his season-high with 21 kills. Setter Daniel Stork totaled a career-best 62 set assists and a career-best 12 digs.
Collin Mehring is fourth in the country in blocks per set with a 1.36 average. The junior has recorded a school record 14 block assists versus BYU. The 14 block assists also ties the season-high in the MPSF.
Outside hitter Kevin Tillie is ranked fifth in hitting percentage (.355), eighth in kills (3.90) and 17th in aces (0.35) nationally, while libero Michael Brinkley is eighth in digs (2.58) and setter Daniel Stork is 11th in set assists (10.28).
As a team, UCI is ranked third in hitting percentage (0.311) and kills (12.95) in the nation and fifth in assists per set (12.14), 11th in blocks (2.56) and 16th in aces (1.13).
Mehring leads the MPSF in hitting percentage at .514, while Scott Kevorken is third (.492). Kevin Tillie is ranked sixth in kills (3.96) and points (4.62) and eighth in aces (0.35). Libero Michael Brinkley is second in digs (2.58), while setter Daniel Stork is seventh in set assists (10.28). The MPSF has different criteria for ranking than the NCAA.
