Box Score IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine and BYU rarely seem to disappoint as the sixth-ranked Anteaters toppled the fifth-ranked Cougars, 3-2 (25-16, 24-26, 25-18, 21-25, 15-13) at the Bren Events Center Saturday.

"We love our matches with BYU. Here. There. It's always great," UCI head coach David Kniffin said. "It's a healthy rivalry. Maybe the best one we have. I feel like we bring out the best in each other. I appreciated the composure of our young team. We are so far away from where we want to be. We have to get better, but I think that we are playing mature volleyball and that is promising."
 
UCI used a balanced offensive attack and big block to improve to 9-1 overall. 
 
Freshman outside hitter Joel Schneidmiller had another impressive performance with a career and match-high 19 kills, hitting .424. Senior Aaron Koubi hit .538, posting a season-high 17 kills. Karl Apfelbach totaled 15 kills, seven digs and matched his season-high with six total blocks. Sophomore Scott Stadick tied his season-high with 10 kills, while recording six total blocks. Setter Dante Chakravorti had a double-double with 52 set assists and a match-best 13 digs.  

UCI bettered its season-best in blocks for the second consecutive night with 13.5 and out-dug the Cougars 38-27.  UCI held the .350-.224 advantage in hitting percentage.

Brenden Sander paced BYU (5-3) with 16 kills, two aces and six digs. Gabi Garcia Fernande had 13 kills and two aces, while Storm Fa'agata-Tufug pitched in 10 kills in the loss.

After BYU logged the first point, UCI rattled-off the next six, which included two blocks. The Anteaters built an 11-4 lead on an Aaron Koubi kill before BYU mounted its only serious comeback scoring three straight to narrow the margin to 11-7.  UCI would win the set 25-16, hitting .591 (15-2-22) and recording five blocks. The Cougars hit .083 (10-8-24).

BYU controlled the second set and led 20-14 before the Anteaters came storming back on a 5-0 run, the last two on Koubi kills, 20-19. The Cougars would hold set point 24-22 then another Koubi kill was followed by a BYU attack error to tie the set at 24 all. UCI would commit two consecutive kills to give BYU the 26-24 victory.

UCI made its move in the third set on kills by Koubi and Apfelbach and a pair of BYU errors, the last a solo block by Apfelbach, 6-2. Another three straight gave UCI the 11- 4 lead. A pair of Apfelbach kills plus a pair of BYU attack errors put UCI at set point 24-16. Two Cougars points delayed a Stadick kill for the 25-18 UCI win.

In the fourth set, a UCI attack error and an ace by Gabi Garcia Fernande put the Cougars out front 7-5. The Anteaters would knot the score at 9-9 and the teams would remain close until BYU used a UCI attack and blocking error to sneak in front 17-15. A Schneidmiller kill and a block by Apfelbach tied the set at 18-18. BYU would score the next three on a UCI service error, a Garcia Fernande kill and a triple block, 21-18 and never relinquish control winning 25-21 and forcing a fifth game.

A kill by Stadick was followed by two Koubi kills to give UCI an early 3-0 lead. Two more Koubi kills made it 6-2. BYU would edge to 8-6 before back-to-back kills by Schneidmiller pushed the advantage to 10-6. An ace by Brenden Sander brought the score to 11-10 then following a Koubi kill, BYU scored twice, the last on a block to tie the set at 12-12. After each team scored a point, UCI recorded back-to-back blocks to end the match, 15-13. 

UCI remains at home next week, hosting Stanford Friday (Feb. 2) and UCLA on Saturday (Feb. 3). Both matches start at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

NOTES: UCI goes to 2-1 in five set matches…The Anteaters have won seven in a row…The last time UCI won back-to-back matches against the Cougars dates back to 2015…The last time UCI swept the season series against BYU at home dates back to 2006…UCI put away a season-high 66 kills…UCI has out-blocked opponents eight times this year, registering 13 or more the last two nights…Parker had 10 digs, his seventh double-digit dig performance this season.