THIS WEEK
MPSF Match
No. 3 UC Irvine at No. 5 Pepperdine · Saturday, Mar. 14 · 7:00 p.m. · Firestone Fieldhouse
Live Stats Video
QUICK HITS
No. 3 UC Irvine starts a tough three-match roadtrip at No. 5 Pepperdine Saturday (Mar. 14) at 7:00 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse.
UCI is 18-3 overall and enters the week tied for first place in the MPSF with a 12-2 record.
UCI's 16 wins are the most in the country this year.
The Anteaters are on a season-nine-match winning streak and have won 12 of the last 13 outings. It is the longest winning streak since UCI strung 11 in a row in 2013.
Pepperdine is 13-4 overall and 9-4 in the MPSF. The Waves, who sit in fourth place in the league standings, are coming off a pair of losses at Hawaii.
The Waves are 39-20 against UCI in the series records overall.
In the first meeting with Pepperdine, four Anteaters recorded kills in double-figures as the Anteaters edged the Waves 3-2 (22-25, 25-18, 25-20, 18-25, 15-13) at the Bren Center.
Outside hitters Tamir Hershko and Kyle Russell led UCI with 18 kills, while middle blocker Jason Agopian pounded a career-high 13 kills and a team-high six block assists. Opposite Zack La Cavera added 10 kills and two aces plus six digs. Pepperdine was led by Parker Kalmbach's match-high 20 kills and Josh Taylor's 18 kills. Matt West posted 46 set assists, seven digs and six total blocks. Nikola Antonijevic led all players with eight total blocks.
The Waves topped the Anteaters in hitting percentage (.314-.306), and blocks (16.0-9.5) and UCI bested Pepperdine in aces (6-3) and digs (40-36).
UCI leads the nation in kills (13.81) and hitting percentage (0.358) and is second in assists (12.97) and fifth in aces (1.66).
Middle blocker Andrew Benz has been heating up, averaging 2.50 kills, 1.00 blocks and 3.00 points per set last week. He was the key to UCI's comeback five-set victory over USC, putting away a career-high 11 kills, going 9-0-11 (.818) in the final three sets, including 4-0-5 in the fifth set. Against Ball State, Benz hit .750 with nine kills on 12 swings and no errors. He once again saved the best for last as he put away five kills on six attempts in the third set. The sophomore had a team-high four block assists in both matches last week.
The Anteaters have also fired a league high of 128 aces and average 1.66 per set.
Saturday's match showcases some of the best players in the MPSF. Pepperdine's Parker Kalmbach leads the conference in kills with a 4.06 average followed by UCI's Tamir Hershko at 3.84. Kalmbach also leads in points (4.56) followed by Hershko (4.46) and Zack La Cavera (4.34).
Pepperdine's Matt West tops the MPSF with a 10.86 mark and Michael Saeta is second at 10.82. From the service line, Matt Tarantino has a league-leading 0.57 average followed by La Cavera in third (0.43). La Cavera has fired the most aces by any Big West player with 32. UCI's Jason Agopian is third among MPSF players in hitting (.429).
Looking ahead after the Pepperdine match, UCI will remain on the road, traveling to BYU on Mar. 27 and 28. The Cougars are the last MPSF team the Anteaters have yet to play.
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