Irvine, Calif. – Outside hitter Kyle Russell's career night led fourth-ranked UC Irvine to a 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 25-19) victory over No. 8 Stanford at the Bren Events Center Friday night.
Russell pounded a personal best 14 kills and hit .765 (14-1-17). He also added four digs and three block assists. Middle blocker Ian Castellana also had a career-high night with six block assists to go with four kills. All-American outside hitter Kevin Tillie recorded 10 kills, while opposite Zack La Cavera had seven kills, six digs and three aces. Setter Chris Austin totaled 35 set assists and had four kills on five attempts (.800). The senior also recorded four digs and two total blocks. Libero Michael Brinkley had a match-high seven digs. Middle blocker Scott Kevorken added three kills and outside hitter Travis Woloson had one kill and an ace in the win.
Stanford was led by Brian Cook with nine kills and five digs followed by Steven Irvin with eight kills and three block assists. James Shaw posted 24 set assists, five digs and two total blocks.
UCI led Stanford in hitting percentage (.375-.194), aces (6-1) and digs (25-22), while the Cardinal out-blocked the Anteaters 9.0-8.5.
In the first set, UCI trailed 8-4 until Zack La Cavera stepped to the service line and had three aces and two kills in a 7-0 run to put UCI on top 11-8. The Cardinal knotted the score at 13-13 on a block by Brian Cook, Steven Irvin and Eric Mochalski. The teams traded points until UCI used kills by Kevin Tillie and Kyle Russell and a block by Russell and Ian Castellana to pull ahead 18-15. The Anteaters would win the set 25-20 behind six kills from Tillie. UCI hit .200, while Stanford hit just .107 in the first stanza.
In the second set, UCI jumped out to an 8-3 lead behind the strength of four Russell kills. The Anteaters never trailed in the set as they won 25-20 on a block by Russell and Castellana. Russell hit .1000 on nine kills with no errors in nine attempts in the set. As a team, UCI hit .519 (17-3-27).
UCI scored three early points on a kill by Chris Austin and two Cardinal errors to take a 3-1 lead in the third set. Stanford closed within 12-11 on a block by Irvin and Mochalski, but UCI would score the next three by way of Russell and Tillie kills and an ace by Scott Kevorken. The Anteaters would open a 22-16 cushion on a 4-0 run which included an ace and kill by Travis Woloson. UCI would win the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.
UCI will take on Pacific tomorrow (Apr. 6) at Crawford Court beginning at 7:00 p.m.
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