No. 8 UC Irvine Battles No. 1 BYU In MPSF Quarterfinals
April 11, 2016 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK
MPSF QUARTERFINALS
No. 8 seed UC Irvine at No. 1 seed BYU · Saturday, Apr. 16 · 6:00 p.m. PT · Smith Fieldhouse
Live Stats
BYU TV
QUICK HITS
UCI MEETS BYU IN QUARTERFINALS: The No. 8 seed UC Irvine will travel to No. 1 BYU for a MPSF quarterfinal match Saturday (Apr. 16) at 6:00 p.m. PT in the Smith Fieldhouse.
The match will be broadcast on BYU TV.
VERSUS THE COUGARS: BYU leads the series record against UCI all-time, 45-16. The Anteaters dropped a pair of 3-0 losses to the Cougars in Irvine earlier this year.
In the first meeting, Kyle Russell led UCI with 14 kills followed by 13 kills the next night. Tamir Hershko knocked down 21 kills over the two matches before being sidelined for 17 matches with a leg injury. For BYU, Ben Patch had 16 kills the first night and 17 kills the second night to lead the Cougars. Jake Langlois added 10 kills and six total blocks in the second meeting.
UCI beat the Cougars twice last year at Smith Fieldhouse, a feat that is rare. The first win snapped BYU's 36-home match winning streak which dated back to Feb. 1, 2013. Prior to the Anteaters, the last time a team beat BYU twice at home dated back to Stanford in 2012 (Feb. 3-4).
BYU is the No. 1 team in the country with a 23-3 overall record. The Cougars won the MPSF regular season with a 19-3 record.
The Cougars hold a 22-6 series advantage over UCI when playing at home.
BACK AT SMITH FIELDHOUSE: While UCI played the Cougars in Irvine this season, they have played in Smith Fieldhouse this year at the AVCA Showcase. The Anteaters beat George Mason (3-0) and lost to Loyola-Chicago (3-2) in the first two matches of the season.
IN THE MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP: The Anteaters are 14-10 in MPSF post-season matches all-time. The Anteaters captured their third MPSF championship last season beating UCLA, USC and Pepperdine as the No. 1 seed. UCI also claimed titles in 2012 and 2007.
It is only the second time since 2010 that UCI has played a quarterfinal match on the road. The sixth-seeded Anteaters lost 3-2 to third-seed Stanford on the road in 2014.
ON THE RECORD: The 14th-ranked Anteaters enter the match 10-19 overall. UCI finished in a tie for eighth place in the MPSF standings with a 7-14 record, but held the tiebreaker with CSUN for the final spot.
