Box Score PROVO, Utah – Seventh-ranked UC Irvine kicked off the 2018 season with a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-18, 25-21) of No. 6 Lewis at the Smith Fieldhouse Friday afternoon.

The Anteaters hit .412 (42-9-80) in a balanced attack that had all of the hitters recording seven or more kills. UCI out-blocked the Flyers 7-6 and had a 4-1 advantage in aces.

Junior Karl Apfelbach led UCI with 11 kills followed by sophomore middle blocker Scott Stadick with eight kills and five total blocks. Juniors Matthew Younggren and JB Kam and freshman Joel Schneidmiller each pitched in seven kills in the win. Schneidmiller hit .545 (7-1-11), while Kam hit .462 (7-1-13) in their Anteater debuts. Setter Dante Chakravorti started the year with 36 set assists and libero David Parker posted a match-high 10 digs.

Ryan Coenen had a match-high 15 kills to lead Lewis. The Flyers hit .218 (35-16-87) for the match.

A kill and an ace by Joel Schneidmiller plus a block by Scott Stadick and Karl Afpelbach gave UCI a 7-2 lead in the first set. A kill and ace by Apfelbach pushed the advantage to 11-4 then a kill by JB Kam and a block by Matthew Younggren and Schneimiller extended the advantage to 13-5. Lewis would rally on an 8-2 run to close within 20-16, but consecutive errors by the Flyers stopped the momentum. A solo block by Stadick and another Lewis attack that went out gave UCI the set 25-17. UCI had four blocks as the Flyers were held to a -.074 hitting percentage.

A kill by Younggren followed by two by Schneidmiller broke a 4-4 tie in the second set (7-4). The Anteaters would continue to lead with a kill and ace by Youngren on either side of a Lewis attack error to move UCI in front 20-12. Three straight points by Lewis helped close the gap to 20-15 forcing an Anteater timeout, but a Stadick kill got the Anteater back on track. UCI would win 25-18 on a Flyer service error.

Set three started with a block by Stadick and Chakravorti then with the score tied at 12, UCI used a Flyer service error and back-to-back kills by Younggren and Apfelbach to move ahead 15-12. Another Younggren kill and a Lewis attack error put the Anteaters in front 18-14. UCI would take the set and match on a Schneidmiller kill, 25-21.

UCI is back in action tomorrow, facing No. Loyola-Chicago, who will play host BYU later tonight. The match with the Ramblers begins at 3:30 p.m. PT.