LOS ANGELES, Calif. – UC Irvine suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss (19-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 14-16) to Ohio State in an opening round match of the NCAA Championship at Pauley Pavilion Tuesday.

The Anteaters, who are making their seventh NCAA post-season appearance, end the season 21-10 overall.

"I'm really proud of the effort tonight and the work put together by these guys," head coach David Kniffin said. "Any time you come into a tournament, you want to demonstrate that you're championship-relevant, and anytime you're going deuce-game in the fifth, you're making that statement. We play the game to win and it's great to be on this stage, but this feels like unfinished business. I think there are some learning moments here for our guys."

Opposite Karl Apfelbach led the Anteaters with 15 kills and four blocks, while middle blocker Scott Stadick added 12 kills and a match-high seven total blocks. Middle blocker Matthew Younggren posted a career-high 11 kills without an error on 16 swings for a season-high .688 hitting percentage. Libero David Parker had a match-high 12 digs and setter Dante Chakravorti recorded 45 set assists and seven digs.

Nicolas Szerszen and Jake Hanes led the Buckeyes with a match-best 22 kills. Sanil Thomas had 57 set assists and nine digs in the win.

UCI out-hit (.342-.305) and out-blocked Ohio State (9.5-5.0), but the Buckeyes held the advantage in aces (9-2) and digs (41-37).

"We have been on this stage three times in the last six years, to continue to be championship-relevant with Irvine in the changing landscape that is Division I athletics, is pretty special," Kniffin continued. "I'm grateful to the administration for the support, grateful to the NCAA for adding the opening rounds, grateful to all the people behind the scenes who have got this thing from four teams to seven teams to wherever it goes next. An even number would be great. "

In the first set, Ohio State used a kill and an Anteater attack that went wide to take a 7-5 lead. Six more points for the Buckeyes, including three consecutive aces extended the lead to 17-10 and the Anteaters could not recover losing the first set 25-19.

Maxime Hervoir had back-to-back kills during a 3-0 Buckeye spurt in the second set to open a 12-9 advantage. UCI went on a 3-1 run to narrow the margin to 13-12 on a Karl Apfelbach solo block. The Buckeyes responded with the next two points to move the advantage back to 15-12. UCI rallied on a kill by Joel Schneidmiller and a block by Schneidmiller and Scott Stadick to tie the set at 17-17.  A kill by Aaron Koubi was followed by two Buckeye attack errors and a kill on an overpass by Stadick to give the Anteaters the 21-18 lead. A block by Matthew Younggren and Apfelback put UCI at set point 24-20 and following a pair of Buckeye points an OSU service error handed UCI the set 25-22. The block was big in the second set as the Anteaters came alive with four rejections.

Ohio State had three consecutive errors to give UCI a 6-5 lead in the third set. The Buckeyes would then record four straight kills to move in front 9-6. Kills by Apfelbach and Younggren knotted the score at 15-15 then another Apfelbach kill put the Anteaters on top, 16-15 forcing an OSU timeout. The Buckeyes would answer with the next three points, taking an 18-16 lead. Ohio State would lead 23-19 before the Anteaters used a kill by Schneidmiller and two Buckeye errors, the last a triple block to close to 23-22. The teams would just trade points to end the set, giving Ohio State the 25-23 win.

Three straight points by UCI on an OSU service error and kills by Younggren and Apfelbach put the Anteaters in front 9-6 in the fourth set. The Anteaters would continue to lead and used a 4-1 run, which included two blocks, to lead 22-17. Ohio State would score the next three, forcing a UCI timeout, 22-20. A kill by Stadick stopped the momentum and a kill by Younggren would end the set, 25-22.

In the fifth set, UCI held a 9-7 lead, but OSU quickly tied it up at 9-9. Neither team would back down as they traded points until 14-14. A Buckeye block was followed by a kill by Nicolas Szerszen to give Ohio State the win 16-14 and the match 3-2.

NOTES: UCI ended the season without a sweep on its ledger…Senior Tucker Pikula had a season-high three kills…Stadick recorded one solo block and owns the UCI single season record with 30…UCI was 4-5 in five sets matches this season…UCI used a different starting lineup for the first time in 17 matches…Joel Schneidmiller hit .800 (4-0-5) off the bench.