Another Successful Season In The Books For The Anteaters
December 05, 2018 | Women's Volleyball
ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN
UCI completed another successful season, going 16-13 overall.
It is the eighth straight year that the Anteaters have recorded double-figure wins and marks 16 of the last 17 years.
The 16 wins is the 11th best total for wins in program history.
The Anteaters were selected to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship for the second consecutive year, falling to UNLV 3-0 in the first round.
It is only the second time in school history that the Anteaters have made back-to-back postseason appearances, joining 2003 and 2004 when they made the NCAA Tournament.
UCI finished third in the Big West with a 10-6 mark.
The Anteaters' 10 Big West wins ties the 2017 total and is the most since 2009 when the club had 11.
Head coach Ashlie Hain has guided UCI to a 66-54 record over the past four years.
CREATING A LEGACY
UCI seniors Harlee Kekauoha, Idara Akpakpa, Haley DeSales and Ali Koumelis have worked their way in to the UCI record books.
Kekauoha is one of five Anteaters to have been named first team All-Big West Conference three times. She holds the school record for best hitting percentage in a match with a .923 mark against Cal State Fullerton in 2016. The opposite ends her career ranked 10th in kills (1,159) and attack attempts (2,991) and third in aces (138). Over her career, Kekauoha has been honored as Big West Player of the Week four times as well as being selected to five all-tournament teams.
Akpakpa, a two-time first team All-Big West honoree, ranks ninth in block assists (274) and 10th in solo blocks (48) all-time. She ends her career ranked sixth in hitting percentage with a .310 mark. The middle blocker ranked third in the conference in total blocks with 109. She was selected Big West Defensive Player of the Week twice in her career.
DeSales, ranks 10th all-time in digs in just three seasons with 1,045. She was named first team All-Big West twice. She moved to libero for most of the year and ended with 489 digs which is eighth best in the season at UCI. The senior recorded double-figure digs in all but one match this year, including a career-high 26 versus UC Riverside. She added Big West Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 15, 2018) and 2017 Marcia E. Hamilton All-Tournament Team to her accolades.
Koumelis ends her three year Anteater career ranked seventh in UCI career set assists with 2,337. The setter was honored as Big West Player of the Week Oct. 15, 2018 and has been named to the 2018 CSU Invitational, 2017 UNLV Challenge and Molten Classic All-Tournament teams. She was also an All-Big West honorable mention honoree in 2017.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
UCI returns four starters from the 2018 squad, including the top two kill leaders.
Sophomore Loryn Carter was named first team All-Big West after leading the Anteaters with a 2.89 kill average, good for ninth best among Big West players. The outside hitter has recorded double-figure kills 17 times this season, leading the squad on nine occasions.
Outside hitter Abby Marjama was named Big West Freshman of the Year as well as being selected to the honorable mention and All-Freshman teams. She led the team in kills 12 times and recorded 15 double-figure kill performances. She was second on the team in kills with a 2.70 average, but was eighth best in the Big West in conference-only matches with a 3.08 average.
Marjama led the conference in aces with a 0.46 average. She fired a school record nine aces in four sets against Saint Mary's which were the most in the conference this season and tied for second most in the country. Marjama totaled 48 aces on the season, which is seventh in UCI season record book.
Junior Makayla Wolfe ranked third in the Big West in hitting percentage with a .341. The middle blocker also averaged 2.05 kills and 0.89 blocks. She had eight aces against Cal State Fullerton, which is second most in the UCI match record books.
Junior Erin Alonso stepped in to the starting libero role for the last 10 matches and averaged 2.32 digs per set. She recorded digs in double-digits in all but one match she started and totaled a career-high 24 against UC Santa Barbara.
As a team, UCI was second in the Big West in aces (1.38) and third in blocks (2.08).
UCI completed another successful season, going 16-13 overall.
It is the eighth straight year that the Anteaters have recorded double-figure wins and marks 16 of the last 17 years.
The 16 wins is the 11th best total for wins in program history.
The Anteaters were selected to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship for the second consecutive year, falling to UNLV 3-0 in the first round.
It is only the second time in school history that the Anteaters have made back-to-back postseason appearances, joining 2003 and 2004 when they made the NCAA Tournament.
UCI finished third in the Big West with a 10-6 mark.
The Anteaters' 10 Big West wins ties the 2017 total and is the most since 2009 when the club had 11.
Head coach Ashlie Hain has guided UCI to a 66-54 record over the past four years.
CREATING A LEGACY
UCI seniors Harlee Kekauoha, Idara Akpakpa, Haley DeSales and Ali Koumelis have worked their way in to the UCI record books.
Kekauoha is one of five Anteaters to have been named first team All-Big West Conference three times. She holds the school record for best hitting percentage in a match with a .923 mark against Cal State Fullerton in 2016. The opposite ends her career ranked 10th in kills (1,159) and attack attempts (2,991) and third in aces (138). Over her career, Kekauoha has been honored as Big West Player of the Week four times as well as being selected to five all-tournament teams.
Akpakpa, a two-time first team All-Big West honoree, ranks ninth in block assists (274) and 10th in solo blocks (48) all-time. She ends her career ranked sixth in hitting percentage with a .310 mark. The middle blocker ranked third in the conference in total blocks with 109. She was selected Big West Defensive Player of the Week twice in her career.
DeSales, ranks 10th all-time in digs in just three seasons with 1,045. She was named first team All-Big West twice. She moved to libero for most of the year and ended with 489 digs which is eighth best in the season at UCI. The senior recorded double-figure digs in all but one match this year, including a career-high 26 versus UC Riverside. She added Big West Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 15, 2018) and 2017 Marcia E. Hamilton All-Tournament Team to her accolades.
Koumelis ends her three year Anteater career ranked seventh in UCI career set assists with 2,337. The setter was honored as Big West Player of the Week Oct. 15, 2018 and has been named to the 2018 CSU Invitational, 2017 UNLV Challenge and Molten Classic All-Tournament teams. She was also an All-Big West honorable mention honoree in 2017.
FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT
UCI returns four starters from the 2018 squad, including the top two kill leaders.
Sophomore Loryn Carter was named first team All-Big West after leading the Anteaters with a 2.89 kill average, good for ninth best among Big West players. The outside hitter has recorded double-figure kills 17 times this season, leading the squad on nine occasions.
Outside hitter Abby Marjama was named Big West Freshman of the Year as well as being selected to the honorable mention and All-Freshman teams. She led the team in kills 12 times and recorded 15 double-figure kill performances. She was second on the team in kills with a 2.70 average, but was eighth best in the Big West in conference-only matches with a 3.08 average.
Marjama led the conference in aces with a 0.46 average. She fired a school record nine aces in four sets against Saint Mary's which were the most in the conference this season and tied for second most in the country. Marjama totaled 48 aces on the season, which is seventh in UCI season record book.
Junior Makayla Wolfe ranked third in the Big West in hitting percentage with a .341. The middle blocker also averaged 2.05 kills and 0.89 blocks. She had eight aces against Cal State Fullerton, which is second most in the UCI match record books.
Junior Erin Alonso stepped in to the starting libero role for the last 10 matches and averaged 2.32 digs per set. She recorded digs in double-digits in all but one match she started and totaled a career-high 24 against UC Santa Barbara.
As a team, UCI was second in the Big West in aces (1.38) and third in blocks (2.08).
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
DS
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
S
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's VolleyballAnteater Spotlights | Ep. 4 | Ally Bolden
Wednesday, December 03
NOT backing down 🙅♀️
Tuesday, December 02
Firing off on all cylinders, no dust 🗣️
Tuesday, November 25
𝑩𝒆 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒔 😌
Friday, November 21
