FAIRFAX, Virginia – The starting seven for third-ranked UC Irvine all contributed in a 3-1 victory (25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 25-16) over host George Mason in the final match of the Uvaldo Acosta Invitational at the Recreation Athletic Complex.

The Anteaters handed the Patriots its first loss of the season (3-1) on the way to a 5-0 start.

HEAD CAOCH DAVID KNIFFIN SAID:
" First of all, I'm thankful to George Mason. They have a special thing going out here. Senior Associate Athletic Director Ron Shayka and head coach Jay Hosack are leading with passion and vision and it shows. The Uvaldo Acosta Tournament is a wonderful tribute to a legend.

From our side of things, I feel good about our last two weeks on the road. This was an aggressive schedule. We grew. We learned. And we are looking forward to getting home for a couple days."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Karl Apfelbach led the Anteaters with a season-high 15 kills plus two aces
>Joel Schneidmiller followed with 14 kills, three aces and nine digs
>Aaron Koubi was the third Anteater in double-digits, totaling 10 kills
>The UCI middles did not commit an error as Scott Stadick hit .750 (6-0-8) and Austin Wilmot hit.636 (7-0-11). Both players had four total blocks
>Setter Dante Chakravorti posted 40 set assists and eight digs, while libero David Parker had a match-high 10 digs
>The Anteaters hit .353 with six aces and out-blocked Mason 9-3
>George Mason's Hayden Wagner had a match-best 23 kills. The Patriots hit .190 on the night

TURNING POINTS
SET 1
>In a closely contested first set the teams were never more than two apart until UCI scored three straight on a Joel Schneidmiller kill, a block by Scott Stadick and Aaron Koubi and an ace by Schneidmiller, 21-19
>A solo block by Koubi, a Patriot attack error and kills by Schneidmiller and Koubi ended the set, 25-21
>Schneidmiller posted five kills in the set

SET 2
>Consecutive kills by Austin Wilmot and Koubi put UCI in front 7-5
>Tied at 11-11 in another tight set, UCI created some distance with four consecutive points on kills by Apfelbach and Koubi, and two George Mason attack errors, 15-11
>Trailing 19-14, George Mason scored three in a row to close to 19-17, but Schneidmiller hammered a ball straight down to stop the momentum
>The Anteaters had points off of two Patriot errors and another ace by Schneidmiller, 23-18
>Apfelbach finished the set with a pair of kills 25-19

SET 3
>UCI took a 16-14 lead on back-to-back kills by Schneidmiller and Wilmot
>George Mason came alive with two kills and a block to take a 19-18 lead
>UCI tied the set at 20 all only to watch the Patriots record the next two kills, 22-20
>George Mason would never relinquish the lead and win 25-23

SET 4
>UCI took command early, 6-2 with the help of a pair of blocks
>A 5-1 run by the Anteaters forced a Mason timeout, 13-6
>UCI seemed be rolling to a victory but George Mason fought back on a 4-1 run then Apfelbach ended it with a kill, 25-16
 
NOTES
>Schneidmiller recorded three or more aces for the third time this season, leading UCI with on the year
>The Anteaters won five matches is nine days
>It is the third time UCI has had three players with double figure kills in a match this year

UP NEXT
>UCI finally returns to the west coast, but stay on the road traveling to Stanford for a pair of matches on Thursday (Jan. 17) and Saturday (Jan. 19)