Box Score DAVIS, Calif. – UC Irvine started slow, but rallied to win the last three sets in a 3-2 (18-25, 17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 15-12) victory over UC Davis at The Pavilion Friday night.

The Anteaters snapped a five-match losing skid against the Aggies and evened their Big West record to 1-1 and improve to 13-2 overall. UC Davis goes to 8-8 on the year and 0-3 in league play.

Middle blocker Idara Akpakpa hit .409, topping the Anteaters with 12 kills and four total blocks. Juniors Harlee Kekauoha and Haley DeSales each recorded 10 kills with Kekauoha adding four aces and nine digs. Setter Ali Koumelis totaled 40 set assists, 10 digs and five digs. Freshman middle blocker Danika Ferguson was a spark off the bench with nine kills and two block assists. Libero Luna Tsujimoto had a team-best 19 digs. Outside hitter Brianna Montgomery had six kills and eight digs.  

UC Davis led every statistical category, topping the Anteaters in kills (56-54), hitting percentage (.250-.195), aces (10-9), digs (67-59) and blocks (14-7).

Mahalia White had a match-high 20 kills followed by Lauren Matias with 16 kills in the Aggies' losing effort.

UC Davis made the first move, scoring three in a row to open a 9-5 lead in the first set. With UCI trailing 16-13, the Anteaters used a kill by Ali Koumelis, an ace by Haley DeSales and a kill by Idara Akpakpa to knot the score at 16-16 forcing a Davis timeout. Out of the break, the Aggies would score the next three points to move back in front 19-16. Serving was key in the set as UCD had five aces, including the set winner, 25-18. UCI committed four service errors.

In the second set, UC Davis jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead, which included another Aggie ace. UCI would rally, scoring four unanswered, started with a kill and ace by Brianna Montgomery. The Aggies would then go on a 5-0 run, which featured two more aces, forcing an Anteater timeout 13-8. The Anteaters could not regroup and would fall 25-17 on the Aggies' ninth ace.

After falling behind 8-4 in the third set, UCI went on a 10-2 run to take a 14-10 lead. The spurt included two aces from Kylie Green and two kills by Akpakpa. With UCI cruising along 19-14, UCD would score five in a row to tie the score at 19 all. The teams would trade points and then UC Davis would score three more unanswered to take a 22-20 advantage. A kill by DeSales plus an Aggie error knotted the score at 22-22. A kill by Harlee Kekauoha and a block by DeSales and Akpakpa followed giving the Anteaters set point 24-22. A Davis kill delayed set point which was put away by Akpakpa 25-23.

A block by Kekauoha and Akpakpa sparked a 3-0 run to give UCI a 7-4 lead in the fourth set. Three consecutive aces by Kekauoha extended the advantage to 11-6 then back-to-back kills by DeSales moved the lead to 14-8. Three UCI errors plus two Aggie kills helped Davis catch the Anteaters 15-15. Each team would score two points before a kill and ace by Kekauoha and a ball-handling error by UC Davis moved the Anteaters to a 20-17 lead. Kills by Koumelis and DeSales ended the set 25-21.

UC Davis led 7-5 in the final set before five straight Anteater kills, two by Koumelis, moved UCI in front 10-7. The teams would trade service errors before UCI used two UCD miscues to get to 13-10. A kill by Kekauoha would end the match 15-12.

The Anteaters return home to host Long Beach State Thursday (Oct. 5) and CSUN Saturday (Oct. 7) at the Bren Events Center.