Box Score DAVIS, Calif. --- UC Irvine put up a strong effort in the first set but could not hold back the rallying Aggies, who won the final three frames in a 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22 decision at The Pavilion Saturday afternoon.
Marisa Bubica led the offensive charge with a team-high 15 kills with Allison Lee chipping in an 11-kill, 11-dig effort. Arden Davis had 17 digs while Cassidy Pickrell posted 16 digs and three aces. Shelley Anderson recorded 31 assists and 11 digs and Arielle Manz tied the match-high with seven total blocks.
The Anteaters hit .235 in the first set but was held to below .200 in the next three sets, ending the match with a season-low .128 clip. UCI edged UC Davis in aces, 7-6, but were bested at the net (14-10) and was unable to contain Kaylin Squyres, who logged a match-best 24 kills for the Aggies.
In the first set, UCI built an early 10-6 lead as Molly Yoder found Anderson for the kill and extended the lead to five at 13-8 on the kill from Manz to force UC Davis to use a timeout. The Aggies answered with two straight points and would cut the lead to three at 15-12 on an ace by Sophia Mar. However, Anderson found Manz and then Lee for a pair of kills as UCI went on a 4-0 spurt to take a 19-12 advantage. UCI used back-to-back kills from Ella Rosenfeld and Pickrell to take control at 23-16 but UC Davis reeled off five straight points, sparked by a pair of key Aggie blocks to whittle the deficit to three at 24-21. However, the Anteaters went to Emily Blair, who came off the bench and dished the ball to Pickrell for the game-winning kill.
The fortunes were reversed as the Aggies took the early 9-6 lead and UCI would use its first timeout. The Anteaters committed back-to-back miscues as the deficit stretched to five at 11-6 on the block by Aima Eichie. However, UCI used a three-point run to come to within two at 13-11 as Lee and Manz stopped an Allie Wegener attack. The Aggies answered again, this time by getting consecutive blocks to complete a 3-0 run and take a 16-11 advantage. UCI continued to battle and mounted 3-1 run to hack the gap down to one point (18-17). That would be the Anteaters' final push in the set as the Aggies built the lead back up to four at 21-18 on the kill from Squyres and Mar would find Squyres again to seal the frame.
Anderson, who continued to spread the offense, went to four different hitters as UCI scored four consecutive points to take a 9-6 lead with Lee acing Wegener to force an Aggie timeout. The move worked for UC Davis which used a 4-0 run of its own to grab the 12-11 edge with Wegener firing a service winner and prompting a timeout, this time by UCI. The two teams traded points in a tense battle and UCI tied the match at 23-23 for the final time as Manz and Lee denied Squyres. Squyres and Eichie returned the favor, putting the block on Bubica for set point and Squyres delivered again with the game-winning point on the next play.
The Anteaters found themselves trailing early in the final set, 6-1 after committing three straight efforts. UCI chipped at the lead and cut it to three at 13-10 as Pickrell and Rosenfeld stopped Wegener. UCI then fired on all cylinders and scored four unanswered points to catch Davis at 14-14 as Pickrell aced Megan Lancaster. However, with the score knotted at 19-19, the Aggies strung together four consecutive to claim a 23-19 advantage and would go on to complete the win on an attack error by the Anteaters.
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