Anteaters Can't Contain Mustangs
October 08, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine was unable to keep pace with Cal Poly in a 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 conference loss Thursday night at Crawford Court.
Ella Rosenfeld put away seven of 15 attempts to hit .467 and Victoria Dennis also had seven kills to lead the Anteater effort. However, UCI was bested at the net, 8-3, and was held to a .162 hitting percentage while the Mustangs hit .429 and also won the battle at the service line, 4-0.
Cal Poly pulled away from an 8-8 tie in the first following a block of Dennis and kills from Raeann Griesen and Savannah Niemen. Dennis followed with an attempt that fell wide (12-8) and Taylor Nelson continued the Mustang run with an attempt that rode the tape and fell in on the UCI side. Dennis finally brought Cal Poly's rally to an end with a cross-court kill that hit the side line. However, the Mustangs maintained a comfortable lead and the Anteaters would go on to drop the first set on a kill from Greisen.
The Mustangs used a three-point run to build an 8-5 lead in the second as Adlee Van Winden and Taylor Gruenenwald delivered on consecutive plays. The margin extended to four (11-7) on a Nelson ace, and then five when Nelson came through, this time with a kill. UCI continued to struggle with Cal Poly's extended runs and had to contend with a 12-point burst as the Mustangs claimed a 21-8 lead before Idara Akpakpa tooled the ball off the Cal Poly block. The set would come to an end on a kill from Gruenewald.
The third set mirrored the first two as Cal Poly edged ahead at the 8-8 mark, taking a two-point lead as Niemen and Hannah Schleis stopped Harlee Kekauoha at the net. Niemen , who had 10 kills on the night, followed with a put-away. Kekauoha notched a kill to bring UCI to within a point at 10-9 but the Anteaters were unable to convert on the ensuing play and Cal Poly went on a 4-1 run to lead 14-10. Cal Poly continued to apply the pressure, pulling ahead by eight points at 22-14 after UCI was called for a blocking error. The Anteaters were unable to make up ground and Cal Poly completed the sweep on a kill from Gruenewald.
The Anteaters host UC Riverside Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Crawford Court.
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