UC Irvine Entertains UC Santa Barbara, Cal Poly This Weekend
October 06, 2014 | Women's Volleyball
Bren Center | Irvine, CA
Tickets
vs. UC Santa Barbara | 7:00 PM | Live stats | Video
vs. Cal Poly | 7:00 PM | | Live stats | Video
- UC Irvine is 10-7 overall (0-3 Big West) and looks to snap a three-match losing streak this week against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly.
- The Anteaters remain first in conference in kills at 14.09 and assists (13.05) and moved up one spot to second in digs (15.52).
- The team is tied for second in aces at 1.47 but are first in total aces with 94.
- UCI is one of three teams in the Big West hitting .250 or better and is currently third (.250).
ANTEATERS-GAUCHOS ON ESPN3
- Friday's match against UC Santa Barbara will be aired on ESPN3.
- Calling the action will be Trent Schlom with Anteater alumna, Whitney Pavlik, serving as color analyst. Sanaz Tavassol will be reporting from the sideline.
- The video stream can be accessed by clicking here.
MIKE PURITZ TO BE HONORED SATURDAY
- UC Irvine Athletics will recognize former women's volleyball head coach, Mike Puritz Saturday.
- Puritz, who coached the Anteaters from 1980-95, has announced his retirement from UC Irvine after nearly 35 years of service to the UCI Campus.
- Puritz logged 215 career wins as the head coach and guided the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1988.
- During his tenure, Puritz's players collected 17 all-conference honors and two AVCA All-Northwest Region nods.
- Following his tenure with the women's volleyball program, Puritz joined Campus Recreation, where he is an associate director and has been with the department since 1996.
NATIONAL NOISE
- UCI is ranked 27th in the country in assist average at 13.05 and 36th in total assists with 835.
- The team is 21st in kill average (14.09) and 31st in total kills (902).
- The Anteaters can also be found ranked nationally in aces at No. 49 with 94 and is 59th in ace average (1.47).
- Individually, Cassidy Pickrell is 16th in aces (30) and 22nd in ace average (.47) .
- Marisa Bubica is 33rd in kill average (4.18), 67th in total kills (234) and 63rd in points per set.
- Shelley Anderson is 42nd in assist average (10.88) while Lee is 49th in total aces (24).
LEE LOCKED IN AT No. 7
- Allison Lee led UCI with 13 kills in the effort against No. 24 Hawaii and is holding steady at No. 7 in the Big West with a 3.23 kill average.
- Lee just missed a double-double with nine digs to go along with two block assists and an ace.
- The senior is second on the team with 200 digs and tops the team with 35 total blocks on 34 block assists and a solo stuff.
- The outside hitter is ranked in the Top 10 in four of seven categories in the Big West.
- In addition to coming in at seventh in kills, Lee is fourth in aces (.38), seventh in points (3.89) and 10th in digs (3.12).
PICKRELL PICKS UP ANTEATERS
- Through three Big West games, Cassidy Pickrell leads the team with a 3.92 kill-per-set average.
- Pickrell also has five aces in three league contests and is tied for fifth with Allison Lee with a .42 average in Big West games.
- On the season, Pickrell remains a key cog in UCI's offensive schemes and is fifth in the Big West with a 3.50 kill average.
- Her 224 total kills rank second on the team.
BUBICA EYEING UCI TOP 10
- Marisa Bubica, the Big West leader in kill average, is making the march up to the UCI top 10 in career kills.
- In her third year, the junior redshirt has accumulated 893 kills and is 14th in the annals.
- Bubica, who posted 12 kills against Hawaii, needs 26 kills to overtake Amanda Vazquez, who totaled 925 kills from 2002-05.
- Bubica leads UCI with 234 kills and is second in the conference with a 4.39 points-per-set average.
ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
- UC Santa Barbara enters the week with a .500 record of 7-7 and is fourth in Big West with a 2-1 league mark.
- The Gauchos swept UC Riverside and then was swept by UC Davis in action last week.
- Jaylen Villanueva tops the team with a 2.77 kill average.
- Phoebe Grunt is hitting .350 and is third in the conference in hitting percentage.
- The Gauchos have won eight of the last nine against UCI and own a 67-9 series lead.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS
- Cal Poly is 1-2 in the Big West and 6-7 on the year.
- Sitting in sixth place, the Mustangs split a pair of matches, falling to UC Davis, 3-1 and then rebounding with a four-set win over UC Riverside.
- Cal Poly opened conference play with a five-set loss to UC Santa Barbara.
- The team is led by Raeann Greisen, who is averaging 3.42 kills per set and has 178 thus far.
- The Anteaters will look to avenge a season sweep last year at the hands of the Mustangs and trail in the all-time series, 39-21.
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