Box Score FULLERTON, Calif. – UC Irvine picked up their first Big West win with a 3-0 sweep of Cal State Fullerton (25-23, 25-22, 25-9) at Titan Gym Wednesday evening.
The Anteaters go to 6-11 overall and 1-2 in league play, while the Titans are 6-10 on the year and 1-1 in the Big West.
Outside hitter Haley DeSales paced the Anteaters with 11 kills, while hitting .556 (11-1-18). She also added five digs and a block assist. Opposite Harlee Kekauoha recorded nine kills, three aces and eight digs. Setter Shelley Anderson came off the bench to guide UCI to a .337 hitting percentage, while recording 32 set assists, four kills and six digs. Loryn Carter and Danielle Geiger each had eight kills, with Geiger hitting .583 (8-1-12). Idara Akpakpa hit .556 (6-1-9), while Luna Tsujimoto had a match-high 17 digs.
Cal State Fullerton was led by Shimen Fayad with eight kills and five total blocks. Madeline Schnieder had seven kills in the loss.
In a closely contested first set, the teams went back and forth with the Titans making a move on four straight points, three off of three consecutive UCI errors, 18-15. Three kills by Harlee Kekauoha sparked the Anteater comeback. She would then step to the service line and a kill by Danielle Geiger was followed by a Loryn Carter kill on an overpass to put UCI in front 23-21. A kill by Shelley Anderson gave the Anteaters the set 25-23. Kekuaoha hit 1.000 (5-0-5) to lead UCI with five kills.
Cal State Fullerton would hold the 19-18 lead in the second set before UCI went on a 5-1 spurt on two Titan errors, kills by Kekuaoha and Haley DeSales and a block by Geiger and Anderson, 23-20. A kill by DeSales and a Titan attack error ended the game, 25-22.
The Anteaters jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead with the help of three DeSales kills. Two more DeSales kills, three aces by Kekauoha and a Titan error extended the lead to 15-3. UCI cruised to a 25-9 victory.
UCI returns home to host UC Davis Saturday (Oct. 1) at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Center.
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