THIS WEEK
Hawaii at UC Irvine · Thursday, Nov. 10 · 7:00 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Live Stats Video: ESPN3
QUICK HITS
UC Irvine will host league-leading Hawaii Thursday (Nov. 10) at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
The match will be streamed on ESPN3.
VERSUS THE 'BOWS
The Anteaters will be looking for their first win against Hawaii, going 0-35 in the previous meetings.
No. 14 Hawaii is on a six-match winning streak and is 18-5 overall and 11-1 to top the Big West.
Hawaii won the first meeting of the year, 3-1 (25-14,25-21,24-26,25-18) in Honolulu.
UCI is the only Big West team to take a set off of Hawaii at home this year.
Victoria Dennis led the Anteaters with 16 kills, while Harlee Kekauoha and Idara Akpakpa recorded career-highs in the first meeting. Kekauoha had a career and match-high 19 digs to go with nine kills and Akpakpa tied her career-high with 11 kills without an error on 14 attempts, hitting a season-high .786.
Hawaii was led by All-American Nikki Taylor with 20 kills. McKenna Granato and Annie Mitchem followed with nine kills. Mitchem also had a team-high five blocks.
Team statistics were close as Hawaii edged UCI in hitting (.289-.248), aces (5-4) and blocks (9-8). The Anteaters topped UH in digs, 57-49.
In conference matches-only, UCI is second in blocks with a 2.22 average behind Hawaii's 3.09 mark.
ACES HIGH
The Anteaters are second in the Big West in aces (1.50), while Hawaii is third (1.49). UCI recorded 14 aces USF the most by a Big West school this season.
Kekauoha leads the league and is ninth in the country in aces with 47. She is second (0.47) behind UH's Nikki Taylor (0.62) in ace average.
Kekauoha has fired three or more aces in each of the last six matches.
NUMBERS GAME
Setter Shelley Anderson is sixth in the conference in set assists per game (9.04). Over the last four matches, she has averaged 9.29 set assists 9.29 and 2.71 digs, while recording five aces and 11 blocks.
Libero Luna Tsujimoto has a string of eight consecutive digs, including 20 or more in the last three matches. The junior is seventh in the Big West with a 3.93 dig average.
In the middle, Danielle Geiger (1.78) and Idara Akpakpa (1.34) are fifth and sixth on the team in kills. Geiger, who leads the team in blocks (0.81), has recorded at least one block in all but three matches this year. Freshman Makayla Wolfe has stepped up, recording 12 kills and six blocks last week while hitting .423.
Freshman Loryn Carter is third on the squad with a 1.97 kill average. Over the last four matches, she has averaged 8.75 kills.
LOOKING BACK
Last week, UCI dropped a pair of matches to Cal Poly (3-1) and UC Santa Barbara (3-0).
Victoria Dennis led UCI in both matches last week, recording 16 kills versus Cal Poly and eight versus UCSB. Dennis is ranked fifth in the league in kills at 3.60 per set.
Loryn Carter totaled a career-high 14 kills, while freshman Makayla Wolfe recorded a career-high eight kills to go with four total blocks against the Mustangs.
UCI topped both opponents in blocks last week. The Anteaters have out-blocked opponents in the each of the last five matches. UCI had a season-high 20 blocks in the win over Long Beach State.
_________________________________________________________________
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.
