UC Irvine Suffers Second Straight Sweep In Loss to Gauchos
September 28, 2013 | Women's Volleyball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. --- UC Irvine (9-7, 0-2) was swept for the second time in Big West action as the Anteaters fell to UC Santa Barbara, 25-19, 25-21, 26-24 Saturday at the Thunderdome.
Cassidy Pickrell, Shannon Fleming and Marisa Bubica each totaled eight kills apiece for the Anteaters while Hannah Nabbout topped the team with 11 digs. Shelley Anderson posted 30 assists to go along with two aces three kills and a pair of block assists.
Aly Squires aced the Gauchos on three consecutive plays to give UCI an early 8-4 lead in the first but a pair of unforced Anteater errors marked a 4-1 run by UCSB to cut the lead to one. Consecutive kills by Squires and Bubica opened up a 16-13 margin for UCI but the Gauchos stayed within striking distance and knotted the score at 16-16 on the block by Ali Spindt and Allie Sullberg. UCSB then out-scored the Anteaters 9-2 to take a one-set lead.
Unanswered runs by the Gauchos hurt UCI again in the second set. The two teams kept the frame fairly close but for the second time with the score tied at 16, UCSB put together a run and out-scored the Anteaters 5-1 to take 21-17 advantage. The Gauchos then rallied for a 3-1 spurt to reach set point. Three consecutive points, highlighted by a pair of aces from Anderson froze UCSB briefly, but following a Gaucho timeout, Hanna Nielson knocked down the winning point.
UCSB took an early three point lead at 10-7 on an attack error by the Anteaters but UCI chipped at the deficit to tie the score at 16-16 on a put-away from Pickrell. Ali Santi went to Spindt on back-to-back plays to spark a 3-1 rally as the Gauchos pulled ahead 19-17. However, the Anteaters responded and used kills from Bubica and Shannon Fleming to catch UCSB at 23-23. A kill from Pickrell tied the match one last time at 24-24 and a ball-handling error by the Anteaters was followed by a kill from Katey Thompson to close out the match.
UCI returns to action Saturday (Oct. 5) against Hawai'i at Crawford Court for a 7:00 p.m. first serve.
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