Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine had its five-match win streak stopped following a 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 27-25) loss to San Diego State Monday night at Aztec Court.

The Anteaters (15-8) were held to a .143 hitting percentage, their second-lowest clip of the year. Cassidy Pickrell, the defending Big West Player of the Week, led the team with 11 kills and 10 digs. Allison Lee added nine kills, four digs and an ace while Shelley Anderson totaled 29 assists. Arden Davis topped the team with 11 digs.

The Anteaters suffered through a rough start, hitting .034 in the first set. San Diego State pulled away from a 9-9 tie on a pair of kills and a UCI error to take a 12-9 lead. The Aztecs stretched the lead to five at 20-15 following a three-point rally sparked by a kill from Halle Aiken, who tied for the match-high with 13 kills. The Anteaters were unable to make a dent in the lead, losing the set on a kill from Cassie O'Hara.

The struggles continued for UCI in the second set and San Diego State capitalized by scoring four straight points to take a 10-5 lead on consecutive kills from Chaiymin Steel. The Anteaters battled and went on a four-point run of their own to catch SDSU at 13-13 with Anderson finding Ella Rosenfeld on back-to-back plays to highlight the run. However, the duo of Aiken and Kaja Sandberg stepped up and delivered at the net on three straight plays. Following back-to-back unforced errors and a pair of SDSU kills, the Anteaters found themselves trailing 22-16. UCI would trim the lead to three on a service ace by Molly Yoder and an unforced error by Alexis Cage (24-21) but Courtney Eckenrode found Steel for the game-winner.  

UCI jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the third on the block by Anderson and Manz but SDSU closed the gap to one at 10-9 as Steel and Hara sent back an attempt by Lee. The teams traded points and at 19-19, Lee aced Aiken and Anderson dished the ball to Pickrell for the kill as UCI grabbed a two-point lead and prompted an Aztec timeout. Unforced errors continued to hamper the Anteaters' effort as UCI committed three straight miscues and SDSU jumped ahead, 23-22. UCI remained in striking distance but was unable to grab back the lead and at 26-25, Eckenrode found Cage for the kill to end the match.