Box Score IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine used a balanced offensive attack to beat Northeastern, 3-1 (25-21, 25-17, 19-25, 25-13) in the home opener at the Bren Events Center.
UCI evens the season record to 2-2, while the Huskies go to 3-3.
Four Anteaters recorded double-digit kills led by sophomore Harlee Kekauoha with 15, tying her season-high. She also added four total blocks, eight digs and eight set assists. Freshman Loryn Carter posted a career-high 13 kills and four block assists. Middle blocker Idara Akpakpa tied her career-high with 11 kills to go with three blocks. Senior Victoria Dennis added 10 kills, while setter Ali Koumelis had a career-high 46 set assists and a career-tying 18 digs plus three aces. Libero Luna Tsujimoto led all players with a season-best 22 digs. The middle was effective as Danielle Geiger had a career-high seven kills, hitting .462 (7-01-13) with three blocks.
The Anteaters out-hit (.252-.152) and out-dug (72-61) the Huskies, but Northeastern out-blocked UCI 10-8.
UCI came out of the gate strong, scoring the first six points. UCI would continue to lead 19-10 before Northeastern creeped within 19-14 before back-to-back kills by Danielle Geiger stopped the momentum. The Huskies made another run with the help of three UCI errors, narrowing the Anteater advantage to 23-21. A kill by Victoria Dennis and a Northeastern attack error gave UCI the 25-21 set victory.
UCI jumped out quickly again in the second set, going up 7-0 behind the serving of Ali Koumelis and two kills by both Idara Apakpa and Harlee Kekauoha. The Anteaters would dominate the set with Kekauoha pounding the 24-13 point. The Huskies would chip away with the next four points before Briana Montgomery notched the winner 25-17.
It was Northeastern's turn to start fast with a 6-1 lead. A block and kill by Loryn Carter followed by a Huskie attack error got UCI to 18-15, but Northeastern would win the set 25-19.
In the fourth set, a kill by Haley DeSales gave the Anteaters a 6-2 lead then she fired an ace to push the advantage to 10-5. A pair of Kekauoha kills, a Huskie error and an ace by Koumelis extended the UCI lead to 18-8. UCI would cruise to the 25-13 win to end the match. Northeastern hit -.027 in the final set.
UCI is back in action tomorrow, taking on Washington State at 10:00 a.m. at the Pyramid on the Long Beach State campus then back home to battle California at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren.
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