UC Irvine
Washington State
UC Irvine Swept By Washington State
September 04, 2015 | Women's Volleyball
MOSCOW, Idaho --- UC Irvine (1-3) was swept by Washington State, 25-19, 25-19, 25-14 to open the Idaho Volleyball Classic Friday at Memorial Gym.
Ella Rosenfeld shared the team-high with six kills, recording an error in 10 swings to hit .500. Victoria Dennis also tacked on six kills. Luna Tsujimoto paced the defense with 12 digs while Shelley Anderson totaled 19 assists.
The Anteaters struggled offensively in the first, managing just a .031 hitting percentage. WSU (3-1) took a 5-1 lead but UCI closed the gap to three at 11-8 on a kill from Lena Latour. The Anteaters continued to chip at the margin and a put-away from Harlee Kekauoha knotted the score at 16 points apiece. UCI managed to keep pace with the Cougars but at 19-19, WSU scored six unanswered points, capping the set with back-to-back aces from Kate Sommer.
Unforced errors hurt UCI in the second set as Washington State built a 12-8 lead on a kill from Taylor Mims. UCI used a timeout and the break was what the 'Eaters needed as Kekauoha put away a pair of cross-court kills to cut the lead to two (12-10). A kill by Hailey Bethune followed by an unforced error by Letour put the Cougars ahead against at four (16-12). Kyra Holt hit over the UCI block to stretch the lead to six (21-15). UCI shaved the lead to four a final time as Idara Akpakpa and Latour sent back an attempt by Haley DeSales. However, Holt knocked down a kill to give WSU set point and Latour's attempt on the next play would not clear the net as UCI fell behind by two sets.
Washington State pounced out to a 6-1 lead in the third but UCI stormed back with a four-point run highlighted by two kills from Kekauoha to slash the lead to one (6-5). The Cougars responded with a six-point run of their own to build a 13-5 advantage with UCI committing four unforced errors. The rally was halted after Dennis and Claire Coash stopped Haley DeSales but Claire Martin and Holt followed with consecutive kills to widen the deficit to 11 (15-6). The Anteaters would not threaten and DeSales would put an end to the match with a decisive kill.
UCI takes on host Idaho Saturday at 12:30 p.m. and then faces Seattle at 4:30 p.m.
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