CLEVELAND, Ohio --- Allison Lee was errorless on the day and posted a career-high 17 kills as UC Irvine handed IPFW its first loss of the year with a 25-15, 25-12, 25-23 decision at the Cleveland State Invitational.
Lee did not commit an error in 28 attempts to hit a match-high .607 against the Mastadons. She led the Anteaters with 13 digs and also added three block assists. UCI's blocking game continued to be instrumental as the Anteaters posted an 8-3 blocking edge. Shannon Fleming had a match-high five block assists and led all players with three aces. Aly Squires was the only other player to reach double-digit kills, coolly knocking down 16 kills in 43 attempts with just a pair of errors to hit .326. Shelley Anderson dished out 21 assists while Mackenzi Campbell recorded 16. Molly Yoder and Marisa Bubica picked up 12 digs in the win.
UCI (4-0) had to come from behind the in the first set after trailing IPFW 12-8 on an unforced error. Following an Anteater timeout, UCI tied IPFW at 15-15 on a kill from Anderson and grabbed the lead at 23-22 on an error by Kendall Wienkes. With the score tied at 23 points apiece, Anderson found Lee and then Fleming for the kill on back-to-back plays as the Anteaters claimed a one-set advantage.
The Anteaters capitalized on a -.032 hitting percentage by the Mastadons and flew out to a 10-3 lead in the second frame. At 11-7, Fleming fired two service winners to highlight an 8-1 run UCI run. The Mastadons never threatened and Anderson and Fleming teamed up to stuff Somer Johnson at the net to close out the set.
IPFW was unable to handle the Anteaters in the final frame. Bubica started the Anteaters off by serving for four straight points and Fleming picked up where she left off by serving for seven consecutive points as UCI opened up a 14-4 lead. UCI closed out the match by winning the final three points.
The Anteaters continue action tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. (PT) against High Point and then take Cleveland State at 4:00 p.m. (PT).
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