IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine block came alive in the final two sets to power UC Irvine to a 3-1 victory (25-22, 16-25, 25-19, 25-13) over Long Beach State at the Bren Events Center.

The Anteaters and Forty-Niners ended the night tied with 10 blocks each with eight of UCI's coming in the final two sets. UCI defense was also bolstered by a 73 to 63 advantage in digs.

UCI improves to 14-8 overall and 8-2 in the Big West, while Long Beach State falls to 13-12 on the year and 5-7 in conference play.

HEAD COACH ASHLIE HAIN SAID
"I think we stuck to the game plan and played really good defense in sets 1 and 4. It was another great team effort."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Outside hitter Loryn Carter tied her career-high 16 kills to lead the Anteaters
>Middle blocker Makayla Wolfe had a season-high 15 kills to go with a match-best eight total blocks
>Erin Alonso (20) and Abby Marjama (18) each posted career-highs in digs. Marjama also added 11 kills
>Hailey Harward had a team-high 13 kills and 16 digs for Long Beach State

TURNING POINTS
SET 1
>UCI started the match hitting .600 (3-0-5) with two blocks to jump out to a 7-2 advantage and force a Forty-Niner timeout
>The Anteaters held a comfortable 20-13 lead before LBSU rallied on a 6-2 run to close within 22-19, but an Ali Koumelis dump and an Abby Marjama ace put UCI back in command 24-19
>Two UCI errors delayed the set winner before a kill by Loryn Carter, 25-22

SET 2
>The teams remained close until Hailey Harward got to the front row and put away four kills to give Long Beach a 13-9 lead
>UCI chipped away and with three straight kills by Carter, Haley DeSales and Sophie Wood the Anteaters narrowed the deficit to 16-15
>LBSU would close out the set on a 9-1 run, which included five UCI miscues, 25-16

SET 3
>A kill by Marjama and a block by Idara Akpakpa and Carter was followed by a kill by Akpakpa to move UCI in front 12-9
>Back-to-back kills by Carter and DeSales extended the lead to 17-11 before Long Beach went on a 7-1 run to knot the score at 18 all
>A Long Beach service error got UCI rolling using two blocks by Wolfe and Wood and two Wolfe kills, 23-18  
>Another kill by Wolfe and a Long Beach attack that sailed long gave UCI the 25-19 victory

SET 4
>Three blocks ignited UCI as the Anteaters held an 11-5 advantage
>Another Anteater block started a 5-0 spurt to open an 18-8 margin
>A kill by Marjama ended the set 25-13 and match
>UCI would hit .500 (16-2-28) with five blocks in the final game
 
NOTES
>UCI leads the Black & Blue Rivalry presented by Duke's of Huntington Beach 7-4
>Abby Marjama has recorded an ace in 17 matches this season and had multiple aces 10 times
>Ali Koumelis had a season-high six kills to go with 39 set assists
>Haley DeSales added a season-high six kills making her second start on the outside

UP NEXT
>UCI will play three matches on the road next week, starting at Cal Poly Tuesday (Oct. 30) when they meet the 11^th-ranked Mustangs at 7:00 p.m. from Mott Gym.