UC Irvine
UC Davis
UC Irvine Handled By Long Beach State
October 29, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine looked to avenge a 3-1 loss against Long Beach State in September but was unable to even the series after dropping a second 3-1 decision to the 49ers Thursday at the Bren Events Centers.
The Anteaters (10-12, 4-6 Big West) had a roller coaster match, hitting well above .300 in the first and the third frame but faltered offensively in the second (.000) and fourth (.179) sets. Harlee Kekauoha led the team with 15 kills and committed just three errors in 31 attempts to hit .387. Lena Latour knocked down a career-high 12 kills while hitting .323 and Ella Rosenfeld also tallied a dozen kills. Shelley Anderson fell shy of a triple double, putting away a career-high eight kills while dishing out 38 assists to go along with 10 digs. Luna Tsujimoto led four Anteaters in double-digit digs with 16.
Long Beach State pulled ahead 9-4 in the first on an ace from Sarah Miller and a cross-court kill from Hayley Benson before Anderson put the ball away on the second touch to halt the 49er run. The Anteaters trimmed the lead to two at 14-12 following a kill from Rosenfeld and an attack error from Nele Barber. Latour provided a needed spark off the bench, finding the seam and then coming up with a key dig that led to a kill from Idara Akpakpa to bring UCI to within one at 17-16. Anderson caught Long Beach State off-guard with a pair of kills but the 49ers answered by going to middle blockers Ashley Murray and Hayley Benson, who delivered to keep LBSU ahead of the Anteaters. UCI continued to creep forward and knotted the score at 24-24 after Jenelle Hudson was unable to put away the over-pass by UCI. Following a service error by Chloe Hakim, Hudson connected with Murray for the game-winning point.
LBSU grabbed control of the second, using a 9-1 run to pull away from an 8-7 deficit and take a 16-9 lead. UCI was unable to corral the 49ers as LBSU hit .353 in the set and never threatened, losing the second frame on a solo block from Benson.
UCI built an early 6-3 lead in the third but LBSU rallied to close the gap to one at 6-5 as Akpakpa's attempt failed to clear the net. Barber was the Beach's go-to player with the outside hitter forcing the ball through the Anteater block to tie the score at 12-12. The two teams traded points but at 17-17, the Anteaters surged past Long Beach State, scoring the final eight points of the set. An attack error by Barber sparked UCI's run. Anderson delivered a kill and was followed by Marisa Bubica who tooled the ball off the block to give UCI a three-point lead at 20-17. Kekauoha pressured the 49er defense, acing Barber and Bubica held the hot hand, first putting away an errant pass by LBSU and then hitting the deep corner (23-17). An Anderson kill gave UCI set point and Hudson attempted to return the favor but the setter's attempt flew long to end the frame.
It was Long Beach State again to take the early lead in the fourth at 8-5 and managed to maintain a three-point edge until Hudson aced Kekauoha to push the 49ers out to four (11-7). Rosenfeld's attempt fell wide (19-13) and the struggles continued for UCI as Hakim was unable to handle a serve from Hudson leading to a kill from Murray. Hakim connected with Kekauoha for a kill to stop the 49er run but Peyton Grahovac went cross-court to give LBSU a 22-14 advantage. An attempt by Bubica went long to cap an extended rally, giving the 49ers match point and following a back-row attack violation by Long Beach State, Barber recorded her match-high 21st kill to end the contest with a hard shot down the line.
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