IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine's bid to come away with a Big West split to open the season started strong as the Anteaters won the first two frames against CSUN Saturday night at Crawford Court. However, UCI's offense cooled as the Matador block heated up (12-7) and CSUN would post a come-from-behind 3-2 (23-25, 15-25, 25-16, 25-16, 16-14) decision to hand the Anteaters (10-6, 0-2) their second consecutive loss.

CSUN out-hit UCI .385-.310 in the first set but the Anteaters stunned the Matadors with a .538 clip in the second. However, UCI suffered a lull in the next two frames as CSUN forced a deciding frame and grabbed the 16-14 win.

Cassidy Pickrell led UCI with 18 kills while Marisa Bubica knocked down 21. Arden Davis led all players with 19 digs while Shelley Anderson dished out 50 assists to go along with four kills and an ace. Arielle Manz led the team with three block assists while putting away eight kills and Allison Lee put together a solid match with nine kills, 12 digs, three aces and two block assists.

An early 3-0 CSUN lead was quickly erased as Lee tied the set with her first ace of the match. The two teams traded points well into the frame and it was the Anteaters who forced the first timeout after back-to-back aces by Pickrell (14-12). The Matadors rallied to tie the score at 15-15 on a kill by Cieana Stinson and it was CSUN's turn to take a two-point lead at 20-18. However, following a UCI timeout, Lee fired consecutive aces and Pickrell tooled the ball off the Matador block for the 22-20 lead. Bubica found the hard angle to give UCI set point and after a kill from Stinson, her next attempt was tipped wide as the Anteaters opened the match with a one-set lead. Pickrell paced the team by knocking down five of seven attempts with no errors to hit .714. ­

The Anteaters rode the momentum of the first frame and built a 3-0 lead, capped by a solo stuff by Pickrell on Hinger but the Matadors reeled off four consecutive points to tie the score at 4-4. The Anteaters grabbed the 7-4 advantage as Anderson put the ball away on the assist from Lee. A pair of unforced errors by Natalie Allen gave UCI a four-point margin at 11-7 but CSUN quickly cut the gap in half with Allen posting a solo block. The Anteaters charged back out to a five-point lead (15-10) with a pair of kills by Manz highlighting the run. Ella Rosenfeld delivered a solo block on Sam Kaul to extend the lead to six at 18-12. Tough serving by Anderson sparked a three-point rally by the Anteaters, who took a commanding 22-13 lead they would not relinquish. Pickrell dropped a soft floater over the CSUN block to give UCI set point at 24-14 and it was Pickrell again, who delivered a kill down the line for the game-winner.

Anderson continued to serve tough from the service line as UCI built a 10-7 edge in the third. However, after a CSUN break, the Matadors rallied with five unanswered points to claim a 13-12 lead on a kill by Danetta Boykin. Kaul knocked a shot down the middle to up the lead to two at 15-13. The Anteater offense cooled considerably and was held to a .029 clip in the set. Boykin aced Lee down the line (17-14), and the Matadors eventually worked the spread to seven (23-16) as the CSUN block came up big in the rally. Hinger bounced the ball off Anderson's hands to claim set point and Bubica would sail a cross-court attempt wide.  

CSUN took an early 8-4 lead in the fourth. The Anteaters caught CSUN at 11-11 as Molly Yoder aced Kelsie Randazzo but the Matadors went on a 5-1 run to take a 16-12 advantage. UCI was unable to threaten and the Matadors' .372 hitting percentage eclipsed UCI's (.027).  The block by Steffi Miller and Allen put the Matadors ahead at 20-14 and Miller paired up with Stinson for the block on Bubica before Hinger would push the match to a fifth set on a shot down the line.