Provo, Utah – No. 8 UC Irvine snapped a five-match winning steak with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-17) loss at No.3 BYU in Smith Fieldhouse Friday.

The Anteaters struggled offensively hitting a season-low .146 (30-18-82) as the Cougars held a 14-3.5 blocking advantage.

UC Irvine (14-9, 11-8) was led by senior outside hitter Connor Hughes with 10 kills and two aces. Senior outside hitter Jeremy Dejno added eight kills, while senior setter Daniel Stork recorded 27 set assists and five digs.

Taylor Sander led BYU (14-4, 14-2) with a match-high 19 kills. Tim Dobbert totaled 11 kills and Michael Hatch had a match-high six block assists.

A Connor Hughes kill tied the first set at 21-21 before BYU scored four of the final five points to take the first game, 25-22.

In the second set, the Anteaters held a 20-19 advantage, but a UCI service error and attack error followed to put BYU in front 21-20. The teams would trade points until the Cougars scored the final two points, including an ace to close out the set 25-22.

UCI scored three in a row in the third set only to watch BYU score the next five and regain a 14-11 lead. BYU would score six straight later in the set on the way to a 25-17 victory.

UCI will take the week off for final exams and return to action hosting Long Beach State March 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Center.