Anteaters Host Long Beach State, CSUN At The Bren Events Centers

  • The Black and Blue Rivalry continues this week as the Anteaters host Long Beach State Thursday (Oct. 29) at 7:00 p.m.
  • Celebrate Halloween with the Anteaters Saturday against CSUN with first serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
  • The Anteaters are third in the Big West in blocking at 2.16, sitting behind Hawaii (3.50) and UC Davis (2.32).
  • The team is also fourth in hitting percentage with a .230 clip.
  • UCI has won three of the last four matches.


TSUJIMOTO NAMED BIG WEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

  • Luna Tsujimoto tied a career-high with 26 digs last week and led UCI to a 2-0 road record to garner the conference's Defensive Player of the Week honor.
  • Tsujimoto, who moved up to No. 5 in the Big West with a 3.89 dig average, then registered 13 digs as UCI swept UC Riverside for the second time this year this season.  
  • The sophomore totaled 39 scoops in two contests and had a service winner.
  • She paces the Anteaters with 307 digs on the year and is second with 15 aces.


BLOCKING CARRIES ANTEATERS TO WINS

  • The blocking game continues to be a key component for the Anteaters, who out-blocked Cal State Fullerton, 11-8, and UC Riverside, 9-1.
  • The team has reached double-digit block assists in three straight matches.
  • Marisa Bubica (5), Ella Rosenfeld (4), Harlee Kekauoha (4) and Idara Akpakpa (3) patrolled the net against the Titans totaling 16 block assists.  
  • Akpakpa (5) and Shelley Anderson (4) handled the Highlanders  with the two combining for nine of the team's 12 block assists.


ANDERSON HAS PERSONAL-HIGH AGAINST HIGHLANDERS

  • Shelley Anderson dished out 39 assists in the win against UCR and made her presence known on the defensive end with a career-high six total blocks.
  • The junior led the team with four block assists and also had two solo stuffs
  • Anderson tied a season-high with two aces while knocking down a pair of kills and picking up seven digs.


BUBICA FIRES CAREER-BEST

  • Marisa Bubica rewrote a personal mark with four aces against CSF last week.
  • She recorded a season-best six total blocks to go along with a team-high 13 kills.
  • Bubica then tied for the team-lead with nine kills against UC Riverside while registering seven digs and a block assists.
  • The senior who has seen limited action this year, averaged 3.14 kills and 1.00 blocks per set in the two matches last week.


LATOUR CRUSHES PERSONAL-BEST

  • Lena Latour logged a career-high nine kills in the sweep  of UC Riverside.
  • The sophomore committed just three errors in 18 attempts for a .333 hitting percentage.


 

AKPAKPA BRINGS EFFICIENT ATTACK

  • Idara Akpakpa had just three miscues in 22 attempts, hitting .500 in both matches last week.
  • The freshman had six kills against CSF with one error and then put away eight kills in 12 attempts versus the Highlanders.
  • Akpakpa was a steady force at the net with eight block assists.
  • She leads UCI with .89 blocks per set and holds the team-high with 70 total blocks.
  • Akpakpa is one solo stuff shy of hitting double-figures to go along with 61 block assists.
  • The middle blocker has recorded at least three block assists in five of the last seven matches.


HAKIM HAS STREAK SNAPPED

  • Chloe Hakim had a three-match streak of double-digit digs halted against UC Riverside.
  • The sophomore had 10 digs in the win against the Titans and fell three shy of making it four straight with seven digs in the win against UC Riverside.
  • Hakim has recorded seven or more digs in six of the last seven matches for the Anteaters.


49ER UPDATE

  • Long Beach State is 17-5 overall and second in the Big West at 7-2.
  • The 49ers have captured wins in five of the last seven matches, including thwarting an effort by third-place Cal Poly with a 19-17 win in the fifth set Saturday.  
  • The team is led by Nele Barber, who has 329 kills and is averaging 3.92 per set to sit fourth in the conference.
  • LBSU is third in the Big West in kill average (13.51) and fourth in assists (12.42) and digs (15.02).
  • UCI suffered a 3-1 loss to the 49ers earlier this season to fall to 69-8 in the all-time series.


ABOUT THE MATADORS

  • CSUN is 5-15 overall and 4-4 in Big West action to sit in the fifth spot in the league standings.
  • The Matadors are paced by Cieana Stinson, who has 254 kills and a 3.58 per-set average.
  • CSUN snapped a four-match losing streak with a 3-2 win over UC Santa Barbara at home.
  • UCI will look to avenge a straight-set loss at Northridge this weekend and trails 26-24 in the series records.


IN THE BIG WEST

  • Ella Rosenfeld is fifth in hitting percentage in the Big West at .336.
  • Kekauoha is ninth in hitting percentage (.301), seventh in kills (3.14) and fourth in aces (.33).
  • Victoria Dennis is also in the Big West top 10 in kills at No. 8 (3.09).
  • Anderson and Emily Blair are both ranked in assist average with Anderson sitting at fourth (8.73) and Blair coming in at eighth (7.57).

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