Provo, UT – No. 2 UC Irvine rallied from two games down, but could not win the fifth as No. 3 Loyola-Chicago won the match 3-2 (25-21, 25-19, 22-25, 26-28, 15-9) at the AVCA Showcase hosted by BYU at Smith Fieldhouse.
The Anteaters, who go to 1-1 on the year, were led by junior All-American Tamir Hershko with 15 kills and 13 digs. Middle blocker Jason Agopian and outside hitter Kyle Russell each added 10 kills with Russell firing three aces. Setter Michael Saeta had 29 set assists, three digs and three total blocks, while libero David Parker had a team-high eight digs.
UCI hit just .171 (52-31-123) to Loyola's .316 (54-18-114). The Ramblers out-blocked UCI 13.5 to 6.
Loyola (1-2) and new head coach Mark Hulse pick up their first win. Ricky Gevis paced the Ramblers with 15 kills, while Trevor Novotny had 14 and Jeff Jendryk totaled 12 kills. Peter Hutz had 48 set assists, seven digs and five blocks.
A pair of Reid Dominquez aces gave UCI momentum and a 4-3 lead in the first set. A Tamir Hershko kill gave UCI the 7-6 advantage before Loyola went on a 5-1 run to jump ahead 11-8. UCI would tie the set at 15-15 on a Hershko kill only to watch Loyola score the next three points and open an 18-15 gap. The Anteaters could only get within two and would drop the set 25-21.
Loyola would score five unanswered to open a 6-2 lead in the second set and UCI never challenged losing the game 25-19.
With the score tied at 21-21 in the third set, Kyle Russell had a kill and a service ace to give the Anteaters a 23-21 lead. The teams would trade points before block by Hershko and Andrew Benz sealed the 25-22 victory.
In the fourth set, Loyola would hold a 22-18 lead before two attack errors pulled UCI within 22-20. Following a Rambler kill, two more Loyola errors and a kill by Michael Saeta knotted the score at 23-23. Another Russell ace gave UCI set point 25-24. A kill by Andrew Benz and another attack error by Loyola handed the Anteaters the 28-26 victory.
UCI started with three consecutive hitting errors and let Loyola get out to a 6-2 lead in the final set. Three more UCI errors and a kill by Trevor Novotny put Loyola ahead 9-4 and they would win the set 15-9 and the match 3-2.
UCI returns home to open MPSF action hosting No. 5 UCLA next Friday (Jan. 15) at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center. Buy Tickets
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