IRVINE, Calif. --- Ninth-ranked UC Irvine (2-5, 1-4) was unable to handle the third-ranked Cougars (5-2, 3-2) in a 25-20, 25-23, 25-20 loss Friday night at the Bren Events Center.
Kyle Russell led the UCI with 14 kills and hit .308 while Tamir Hershko chipped in 10 kills while firing a team-leading three aces. Michael Saeta and Dante Chakravorti posted 18 and 11 assists respectively, and Hershko and Dillon Hoffman combined for 12 digs with six apiece.
An early service ace by Hershko gave UCI its final lead of the first set at 9-8 before BYU would grab the lead for good. Ben Patch knocked down an assist from Leo Durkin to tie the score and Andrew Benz followed with an attack error for the 10-9 BYU lead. Both teams stymied their own causes as the sides combined for 11 service errors in the frame. UCI saw BYU's advantage stretch out to four at 21-17 following a kill from Jake Langlois and Russell and Hershko committed consecutive attack errors to end the set.
UCI had to contend with BYU's best offensive effort in the second as the Cougars posted a .500 hitting percentage while holding the Anteaters to a .161 clip. UCI trailed 10-7 behind back-to-back unforced errors before Chakravorti halted the Cougar rally with a kill. UCI committing consecutive errors again to prompt a timeout, trailing 12-8. Six of the next seven points came off of service errors but a pair of kills from Reid Dominguez and an ace from Russell would cut BYU's lead to one at 16-15. Saeta spread the offense among Dominguez, Russell and Hershko to keep the Anteaters within striking distance. However, despite consecutive kills from Russell, BYU managed to stay ahead with Durkin finding Price Jarmin for the final two kills of the set.
Hersko aced Brenden Sander in the third, giving UCI a 7-5 edge but after a kill from Saeta, BYU mounted a four-point run to take a 10-8 lead. The two teams traded points until a service error from Sander and an attack error by Langlois tied the set at 12 points apiece. The Anteaters were unable to capitalize as BYU rebounded by scoring the next six points before Russell jammed the ball through the BYU block (15-13). The Cougars rallied for a 5-2 run to extend the margin to five at 20-15 and completed the sweep after a UCI service.
The two teams will face off against Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center with first serve scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
_________________________________________________________________
For UC Irvine Athletics ticket information, please call (949) 824-5000 or e-mail athletics.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.
