THIS WEEK
Non-Conference Match
Princeton at UC Irvine · Monday, Jan. 26 · 7:00 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Live Stats Video
MPSF Matches
Hawaii at UC Irvine · Wednesday, Jan. 28 · 7:00 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Live Stats Video
Hawaii at UC Irvine · Friday, Jan. 30 · 7:00 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Live Stats Video
QUICK HITS
UC Irvine hosts another busy week, beginning with Princeton in a non-conference tilt Monday (Jan. 26).
Hawaii will then visit for a pair of matches, starting Wednesday (Jan.28) and again Friday (Jan. 30).
All three matches begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.
UCI enters the week with a 7-2 overall and 3-1 MPSF record.
The Anteaters continue their torrid pace, playing six matches over an 11 day span.
By the end of January, the Anteaters will have played 12 matches over 26 days.
UCI owns a 13-2 lead over Princeton in the series records.
The Anteaters have won the last 11 meetings against the Tigers with Princeton's last win versus UCI coming in 1997.
The two teams last met on Jan. 26, 2010, a 3-0 UCI victory in Crawford Court.
Princeton is 1-3 on the season after playing four MPSF teams. At the UC Santa Barbara Invitational, the Tigers lost to Long Beach State (3-0) and UCSB (3-0). Princeton beat CSUN in five sets then lost to UCLA 3-0 on Sunday.
Hawaii is 5-1 overall and 2-0 in the MPSF coming off two wins against UCSB at home on Jan. 16 & 18.
This week's matches will be the Warriors' first action away from home this season.
Hawaii's lone loss of the year came at the hands of the Anteaters, falling to UCI 3-0 in the championship match of the Outrigger Invitational.
In the last meeting, UCI was led by Tamir Hershko with 17 kills and a .696 hitting percentage (17-1-23). Kyle Ruissell added 11 kills and Zack La Cavera added 10 kills. The Anteaters had nine service aces, five coming from Michael Saeta. Sinisa Zarkovic led Hawaii with 13 kills, while Taylor Averill had four aces.
The first two AVCA National Players of the Year will be in action this week. UCI's Tamir Hershko won the first honor on Jan. 13 and Hawaii's Taylor Averill earned the distinction on Jan. 19.
UCI assistant coach Mark Presho is a 1993 graduate of Hawaii where he earned All-American honors as a senior. He is second all-time in kills (1,582) for the Warriors behind Costa Theocharidis, who was ruled ineligible by the NCAA but his statistics remained.
Hawaii holds a 29-20 series record advantage over UC Irvine, but the Anteaters have won the last 10 meetings.
In the national rankings, UCI is third in aces (1.97), assists (13.03) and hitting percentage (.344) and fourth in kills (13.69).
Sophomore Michael Saeta is ranked third in country in aces (0.66) and fourth in assists (11.25).
The Anteaters lead the MPSF in assists and hitting percentage and are second in kills. Hershko is second in points (4.55) and La Cavera is third (4.52). Libero Michael Brinkley ranks third among MPSF players in digs with a 2.42 average.
