Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. --- Marisa Bubica had a career-high 24 kills and blasted a .455 hitting percentage and Emily Blair sparked the Anteaters off the bench with 22 assists as UC Irvine posted a 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 15-25, 25-18, 15-12) victory over Pepperdine at the UC Irvine Invitational.

Bubica committed just four errors in 44 attempts in the win while Cassidy Pickrell hit .300 as the sophomore put away 17 kills in 40 assists. Pickrell also picked up a career-high 17 digs and Allison Lee matched the effort by tying a personal-high with 17 scoops to go along with 14 kills. Arden Davis led the Anteaters to an 80-64 dig advantage with a match-leading 21 digs. Shelley Anderson added her own double-double with 36 assists and 11 digs.

A pair of Pepperdine aces and two unforced errors by the Anteaters told the story in the early going as Waves took a 9-5 lead in the first. UCI scratched at the deficit and closed the gap to two at 12-10 on kills from Bubica and Lee but the Waves answered with six consecutive points to stretch the lead to six at 16-10. UCI continued to rally and trimmed the gap to three at 23-20 on an ace by Anderson. Following a Pepperdine timeout, Katie Messing hit a hard shot off the hands of Anderson to halt the run but a kill by Bubica was followed by an ace from Molly Yoder as the Waves used their second timeout at 24-22. There the Anteater run would fall short as Messing tooled the ball off the UCI block to close out the set.

UCI came out fast in the second, building the 10-5 lead and capping the stretch with an off-speed shot from Arielle Manz paired with an ace from Pickrell. However the Waves surged back and cut the lead to one at 15-14 on an ace by Messing. The Anteaters used a timeout to regroup and Lee delivered a smooth roll shot over the block and Pickrell delivered a cross-court blast to stretch UCI's lead to three at 18-15.  However, the tide turned in the Waves' favor as Pepperdine rallied to take a 21-19 advantage on a key block followed by a pair of unforced Anteater errors. The two teams traded points and Messing committed an attack error to open the door and UCI grabbed the lead once again on a second ace from Yoder.  Anderson found Lee for a shot down the line and Pickrell delivered the final blow to tie the match at a set apiece.

The Waves claimed a 9-5 advantage and managed to hold off the Anteaters despite a burst by UCI that cut the lead to two at 12-10. That was as close as UCI would come as the team struggled throughout the latter half of the set and was held to a .162 hitting percentage. Bergeson would close the set on a drop shot into the middle of the court.

Pepperdine eked out the early lead in the fourth but at 7-4, UCI inserted Blair, who orchestrated a 4-1 run to knot the score at 8-8. Blair then went to the hot hand in Bubica, who would crush a pair of kills to give UCI an 11-9 edge. The Anteaters rode the momentum and built a seven-point spread with Blair notching an emphatic solo stuff on Messing for the 23-16 lead. Bubica used the Pepperdine block to give UCI set point and it was the outside hitter again as she closed the frame with an off speed shot over the Wave block.

The Anteaters leapt out to a 3-0 lead in the deciding set. Pepperdine rallied to cut the lead to one at 5-4 and would tie the score at 7-7 on a kill from Bergeson. The set see-sawed and the Anteaters opened the door on a tough serve from Blair that led to a kill from Bubica and gave UCI a 12-10 lead. Dani Geiger and Lee teamed up to deny Samantha Cash on the ensuing play (13-10) and Bubica used a soft roller to give UCI match point. Blair, serving for the match, sent the ball long and Pepperdine capitalized with two straight points to force an Anteater timeout at 14-12. However, Blair was unfazed and went to Bubica on the final play as the junior delivered the final blow for the win.   

UCI takes on Utah State Saturday at 2:00 p.m. to close out the UC Irvine Invitational. Pepperdine (3-2) will take on Idaho to open the action at 11:00 a.m.