Los Angeles, Calif. -- No. 4 UC Irvine beat No. 12 UCLA, 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-21, 25-20) at Pauley Pavilion Friday, to extend their winning streak to six.
The Anteaters (24-4, 18-3) were led by opposite Zack La Cavera with 20 kills, hitting .447. He also recorded three aces and eight digs. Outside hitter Travis Woloson hit .522 with 13 kills on 23 attempts and just one error.. Outside hitter Tamir Hershko had 12 kills, two aces and five digs. Middle blockers Andrew Benz and Jason Agopian each pitched in six kills. Setter Roberto Frazzoni guided UCI to a .429 hitting percentage while recording 50 set assists and 10 digs. Libero Michael Brinkley had a team-high 11 digs.
UCLA (11-13, 7-13) had a trio of players in double figure kills led by Jake Arnitz with 15 and followed by Mitch Stahl (13) and J.T. Hatch (11).
In game one, Zack La Cavera fired two consecutive aces to put the Anteaters up 6-3. A solo block by Jason Agopian, a service ace by Roberto Frazzoni and a kill by La Cavera extended the margin to 13-6. The Bruins scored three straight to narrow the score to 22-18, but a Travis Woloson kill stopped the streak. UCI would win the set, 25-10. UCLA hit .440 but committed eight service errors.
The Bruins came out of the gates quickly in the second set, 4-0 before an Agopian kill was followed by three by La Cavera kills to tie the game. With UCLA leading 17-14, UCI rallied to tie the score, 17-17, on a kill by Woloson and two Bruin attack errors. UCI would lead 21-20 on a La Cavera kill then UCLA scored five straight to win the set 25-20.
In the third set, a kill and two aces by Tamir Hershko and another La Cavera kill gave UCI an 18-14 cushion. The Anteaters would score three in a row to hold set point 24-19. The Bruins would score the next two to delay the win which came on a Hershko kill, 25-21. The Anteaters hit .552 (17-1-29).
A pair of Woloson kills followed by a Bruin attack that went in to the net gave UCI the 11-7 lead in the fourth set. That was all the separation they needed as UCI would go on to win the set 25-20.
The Anteaters will host UC San Diego next Sat. (Apr. 18) to close out the regular season. Seniors Zack La Cavera, Travis Woloson, Roberto Frazzoni and Michael Brinkley will be honored following the match.
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