No. 1 Seed UC Irvine Overpowers No. 8 Seed UCLA, 3-0, In A MPSF Quarterfinal Match
April 25, 2015 | Men's Volleyball
Irvine, Calif. – Top-seed UC Irvine overpowered eighth-seeded UCLA, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-15) in a MPSF Quarterfinal match at the Bren Center Saturday in front of 1,923 fans.
UCI, who is ranked second nationally, will host the MPSF semifinals next Thursday (Apr. 30) and the finals Friday (May 1) at the Bren Events Center.
The Anteaters will battle fourth-seeded USC at 7:30 p.m. following the first semi featuring Pepperdine against winner of Hawaii and Long Beach match at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale.
UCI won its eight consecutive match and improves to 26-4 overall, while UCLA ends its season at 13-14.
The Anteaters offense was almost flawless with just three errors in the match and a .481 (41-3-79) hitting percentage. Three errors are the fewest by the Anteaters all season and the hitting percentage was the second best mark this year behind .526 against Hawaii at the Outrigger Invitatonal. UCI also out-blocked the Bruins 8-1.
MPSF Player of the Year Zack La Cavera led UCI with 13 kills, hitting .500, committing just one error in 24 attempts. He also fired an ace and totaled seven digs and three block assists. Outside hitter Tamir Hershko fired three aces and hit .556 with 10 kills on 18 swings and no errors. Outside hitter Travis Woloson added nine kills and hit .471 (9-1-17), while both middle blockers Jason Agopian (5-0-10) and Andrew Benz (4-0-8) hit .500 without committing an error. Agopian also had a team-best five total blocks. Roberto Frazzoni guided the Anteater attack and dealt 28 set assists and recorded seven digs. Libero Michael Brinkley scooped up a match-high 11 digs.
UCLA was led by J.T. Hatch with 13 kills, the only Bruin to reach double-digits. He also led the team with nine digs. Jake Arnitz added six kills and five digs and Trent Kersten had five kills in the loss. The Bruins hit .202 (31-14-84) and three aces.
In the first set, UCI went on a 4-1 run which saw a kill and ace by Andrew Benz to give UCI some separation 9-5. The Anteaters broke the set open, scoring seven straight, including two kills and two block assists by Zack La Cavera to reach set point 24-15. After a two point delay, La Cavera ended the set 25-17. The Anteaters hit .500 (14-2-24).
UCLA led 12-10 before the Anteaters went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-12 lead. UCI would never trail again as the Anteaters would score the final three points, including two blocks by Jason Agaopian to give UCI the set 25-18.
The third set was all UCI as the Anteaters jumped out to a 5-1 then 9-3 lead. UCI would score six points with Hershko at the service line during the set, including two of his aces. Hershko also had a kill off of his chest to put the Anteaters up 17-7. A kill by Travis Woloson ended the set 25-15 and the match 3-0.
_________________________________________________________
For UC Irvine Athletics ticket information, please call (949) 824-5000 or e-mailathletics.tickets@uci.edu. For more information click here.
For information on how you can help support UC Irvine Athletics, please call (949) 824-6933 or e-mail aaf@uci.edu. For additional information, click here.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and by downloading the UCI Front Row app, available free to all Anteater fans through iTunes and Google Play, to view schedules, results, and up-to-the-minute news.
