Box Score IRVINE, Calif. – CSUN edged UC Irvine 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 15-13) in the Big West opener at the Bren Events Center Thursday.
UCI (5-10, 0-1) led the Matadors in hitting (.230-223), aces (6-5) and digs (82-76), but CSUN (5-8, 1-0) owned the net, out-blocking the Anteaters 13-7.
UCI sophomore Harlee Kekuaoha became one of five players in the nation to record three triple-double this season with 11 kills, 24 set assists and 12 digs.
For the fourth consecutive match, senior Victoria Dennis led UCI in kills with 19. She also tied her career-high with nine digs.
Freshman Loryn Carter had 12 kills followed by Haley DeSales and Idara Akpakpa with 10 kills each. DeSales tied Luna Tsujimoto with a team-high 19 digs, which was a career-high for DeSales. Ali Koumelis notched 35 set assists and 10 digs.
Aeryn Owens had a match-high 22 kills to pace the Matadors. Julie Haake pitched in 12 kills, while Lauren Conati had 52 set assists and Katie Sato had a match-best 29 digs.
In the first set, harlee Kekuaoha had a kill then stepped to the service line and UCI scored the next three points, including a block by Danielle Geiger and Loryn Carter to take an 8-4 lead. A kill by Carter was followed by two Matador attack errors to extend the gap to 20-16. A bad set by CSUN ended the set for UCI 25-20.
CSUN scored five in a row, three on Anteater errors and held a 12-9 lead in the second set. UCI would tie the set at 21-21 on a Victoria Dennis kill, but CSUN responded with the next three to sit at set point, 24-21. The Anteaters would make it interesting on back-to-back kills by Idara Akpakpa and Geiger, 24-23. A kill by Aeryn Owens gave the Matadors the 25-23 victory.
UCI jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with the help of two Haley DeSales' kills. Three consecutive kills by Carter opened a 12-5 margin. The Anteaters controlled the rest of the set and would win 25-21 on a Kekuaoha kill.
UCI led 8-5 before the tide turned and the Matadors went up 15-13. Four consecutive points by CSUN extended the margin to 19-15. UCI rallied late on a kill by Akpakpa, an ace by Luna Tsujimoto and block by Geiger and Kekuaoha to get to 24-23. CSUN would send it to a fifth set on another Owens kill, 25-23.
CSUN broke open the fifth set with a 4-0 spurt, 12-9. The Matadors would lead 13-10 before UCI's tied the set at 13-13 on a pair on Tsujimoto aces. CSUN would score the final two points to win 15-13 and the match 3-2.
UCI hosts Long Beach State in a Black & Blue Rivalry match Saturday (Sept. 24) at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.
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