Box Score IRVINE, Calif, -- Junior Haley DeSales posted a match-best 19 kills as UC Irvine topped UC Davis 3-1 (25-16, 25-12, 16-25, 25-17) at Crawford Court Saturday afternoon.

The Anteaters won their sixth straight and improved to 18-2 overall and 6-1 in the Big West.

DeSales added nine digs to go with her 19 kills. Junior Harlee Kekauoha followed with 10 kills, two aces and three blocks and junior Idara Akpakpa with nine kills. Sophomore Makayla Wolfe had eight kills and a season-high five block assists.  

On defense, senior Luna Tsujimoto led the Anteaters with 17 digs, while sophomore Erin Alonso added a career-high 11 digs.

The Aggies (11-11, 3-6) were led by Mahalia White's 17 kills and Malia Bolko's match-best 19 digs.

UCI used a 5-0 run in the first set to open a 9-6 lead then four more unanswered gave the Anteaters the 13-7 advantage. The Aggies would get no closer than three the rest of the way as back-to-back blocks by Harlee Kekauoha and Makayla Wolfe would end the set, 25-16.

In the second set, UCI started with an 11-4 lead, which included three kills by Haley DeSales. The Anteaters scored six in a row, with three more DeSales kills to expand the advantage to 23-11. A kill by Kekauoha would give UCI the 25-12 victory. UCD struggled offensively, hitting -.026 (7-8-38)

UC Davis took control early in the third set and would go on to win, 25-16. The Aggies hit .364 compared to UCI's .143.

In a closely contested fourth set, UCI took an 18-14 lead on a pair of DeSales kills paired with three Aggie attack errors. A kill by Kekauoha ended the set 25-17 and the match, 3-1.

UCI will host league-leading Cal Poly on Tuesday (Oct. 24) at the Bren Events Center at 7:00 p.m.