THIS WEEK
MPSF Matches
No. 8 UC Irvine at No. 8 Hawaii · Friday, Mar. 7 · 9:00 p.m. · Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats Video Audio
No. 8 UC Irvine at No. 8 Hawaii · Sunday, Mar. 9 · 8:00 p.m. · Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats Video Audio
QUICK HITS
UC Irvine will travel to Hawaii for a pair of matches, beginning Friday (Mar. 7) at 9:00 p.m. PT and Sunday (Mar. 9) at 8:00 p.m. PT.
Both teams are tied at No. 8 in this week's AVCA Coaches poll. The Anteaters remained at No. 9 in the Volleyball Magazine poll, while Hawaii checks in at No. 8. UCI has been ranked in the nation's top 15 for 147 consecutive weeks.
UCI enters the week 11-8 overall and 8-7 in the MPSF. The Anteaters are currently in eighth place, one behind Pepperdine, UC Santa Barbara, Hawaii and USC who are tied for fourth with a 9-6 mark.
UCI has won two in a row and four of the last five matches.
Hawaii is 11-6 overall, coming off two upset victories over then-No. 3 UCLA last week.
UH leads the overall series 29-17 against UCI, but the Anteaters have won the last seven meetings, including both outings in 2013 in Irvine.
UCI's trip to Honolulu starts four consecutive matches on the road for the Anteaters.
UCI ranks fourth in the MPSF in hitting percentage (.303), kills (13.24) and aces (1.33). Against MPSF teams only, UCI is hitting .313, which is second best among league opponents.
Nationally, middle blocker Scott Kevorken is ranked sixth in hitting percentage (.436). Over the last three matches, the senior is hitting .609 (31-3-46) and averaging 2.82 kills and 1.00 blocks per set.
The Anteaters have a deep offensive attack with six players averaging 1.55 kills or more per set. Zack La Cavera leads the team with a 3.66 kill average followed by Jeremy Dejno (3.02), Tamir Hershko (2.97), Connor Hughes (2.35), Scott Kevorken (1.91) and Collin Mehring (1.55).
La Cavera leads the team with 21 aces. The Anteaters average 1.3 aces per set, while opponents average 0.9.
In UCI's 11 wins, the Anteaters have held opponents to a .189 hitting percentage.
Over the last two matches, UCI is averaging 15.38 kills, 1.25 aces, 11.0 digs and 2.2 blocks per set.
The Anteaters beat UC Santa Barbara, 3-1 in the lone match last week. UCI had a balanced attack with four players recording double-figure kills.
Connor Hughes tied his season-high with a team-high 15 kills and recorded a career-high 14 digs versus the Gauchos. Scott Kevorken hit .619 (14-1-21) recording a career-high 14 kills to go with four block assists. Jeremy Dejno had 13 kills and a career-high six block assists, while Collin Mehring posted 10 kills and six block assists and Daniel Stork made the start and totaled 50 set assists and recorded a season-high eight digs.
Junior libero Michael Brinkley moved in to third all-time in UCI digs with 650. He is 20 shy of Jordan DuFault's second spot. Hawaii native Brent Asuka is UCI all-time leader with 1,156.
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