Irvine, Calif. – Opposite Zack La Cavera pounded a career-high 25 kills to lead No. 1 seed UC Irvine to a 3-2 (22-25, 25-17, 25-23, 16-25, 15-11) victory over fourth seeded USC in an MPSF semifinal at the Bren Events Center with 2,835 fans in attendance.
La Cavera set a new personal best for kills with 25 and tied his career-high with 13 digs. Outside hitter Tamir Hershko added 15 kills, while middle blockers Jason Agopian and Andrew Benz recorded nine and eight kills, respectively. Benz led the squad with five total blocks. Outside hitter Travis Woloson had seven kills and nine digs and setter Roberto Frazzoni had 42 set assists and five digs. Libero Brinkley led all players with a match-high 19 digs, including two key digs in the final set.
USC was led by Alex Slaught and Andy Benesh with 11 kills apiece. Cristian Rivera and Larry Tuileta each chipped in eight kills. Micah Christenson racked up 41 set assists and seven digs. Brooks Varni posted 11 digs to lead the Trojans.
UCI, who leads the nation in hitting percentage, hit just .257 (65-29-140), the lowest mark of the season. The Anteaters out-dug USC 54-42, while the Trojans held the 9.0-6.0 advantage in blocks. UCI had the slim 4-3 advantage in aces.
UCI built a 10-7 lead in the first set on a kill by Tamir Hershko then stayed in front 14-11 on a USC attack error. The Trojans would rally to tie the set at 16-16 on an Anteater attack miscue. The Anteaters would sneak ahead 21-19 on back-to-back kills by Andrew Benz and Zack La Cavera, but USC would score the next two to knot the score once again at 21-21. The Trojans would score the final three points on two blocks and a kill by Andy Benesh 25-22.
In the second set, UCI jumped out to a 9-4 lead on a Travis Woloson kill and never looked back as they took the set 25-17. The Anteaters hit .481 (18-5-27) to USC's .130 (7-4-23). La Cavera paced UCI with five kills.
USC used three UCI attack errors to open a 16-13 lead in the third set. UCI's Michael Saeta came in a fired a pair of aces to tie the set at 17-17. USC led 23-21 on kills by Cristian Rivera and Alex Slaught, but then UCI caught fire on a kill by Woloson plus a Trojan attack error and kills by La Cavera and Hershko to win the set 25-23.
The fourth set was all USC as they started with a 4-1 advantage and opened a 18-10 gap on three consecutive UCI errors. The Anteaters hit just .138 (13-9-29) and would lose the set 25-16.
USC was hot out of the gate in the final set with a 3-0 lead. The Trojans would lead 6-3 before UCI would score four straight on a La Cavera kill and three consecutive Trojan attack errors, 7-6. After a USC kill, another kill by La Cavera and two Hershko kills put the Anteaters up 10-7. A kill by Benz and an ace by Hershko gave UCI match point. A service error delayed the winner by La Cavera, 15-11.
UCI (27-4) will battle Pepperdine (24-5) for the tournament crown tomorrow (May 1) at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.
Third-seeded Pepperdine upended second seed Hawaii, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-16) in the first semifinal. Pepperdine's Josh Taylor led all players with 22 kills.
UCI will be playing in their third MPSF championship match, while Pepperdine makes its seventh appearance.
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