Box Score IRVINE, Calif. – The top 10 showdown did not disappoint as No. 3 UC Irvine beat No. 6 Pepperdine 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 26-24, 28-26) at the Bren Events Center Sunday.

The Anteater block was key down the stretch as the Anteaters recorded three blocks in a 6-0 run that tied the set when Pepperdine led 24-19 in the fourth. For the match, UCI out-blocked the Waves 12 to 6.5 and recorded a season-high seven aces.

UCI improves to 8-2, while Pepperdine goes to 5-2.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Joel Schneidmiller, Aaron Koubi and Karl Apfelbach led UCI with 13 kills each
>Apfelbach also fired three aces and had a season-high nine digs and six block assists
>Schneidmiller (10) and Koubi recorded double-doubles with Koubi posting a team-high 11 digs, which ties his season-high
>Middle blocker Scott Stadick tied his season-high in block assists with eight, while tying his season-high in kills with 10
>UCI out-hit Pepperdine .269-.234 and bettered the Waves in aces 7-2. Both teams totaled 49 digs
>Pepperdine's David Wieczorek had a match-best 22 kills 

TURNING POINTS
FIRST SET
> Kills by Scott Stadick and Karl Apfelbach created a slight separation for UCI, 10-8
>A kill by Austin Wilmot was followed by two Pepperdine attack errors, one on a block by Wilmot and Dante Chakravorti to give UCI a 14-10 lead
>Pepperdine would score the next four to knot the score at 14 all
>Teams would trade points until a kill by Aaron Koubi was followed by a pair of aces by Apfelbach, 23-21
>Wilmot would put away a ball from the middle to win the set 25-23

SET 2
>An ace by Joel Schniedmiller pushed UCI out to an early 6-1 lead
>UCI would lead 16-12 before the Waves rallied with three straight to narrow the margin to 16-15 forcing a UCI timeout
>Koubi and Schneidmiller would put away a pair of kills (18-15), but three more points by Pepperdine, the last a kill by David Wieczorek tied it at 18-18
>A UCI service error and a triple block by the Waves put them in front 20-19
>Another UCI service error proceeded two Wave kills to give Pepperdine set point 24-21
>A Pepperdine service error would delay the set winner by Kaleb Denmark, 25-22

SET 3
>UCI would lead 8-3 on a block by Wilmot and Apfelbach and again 9-4 before the Waves would take control on a 10-0 run, 14-9
>Back-to-back block assists by Alexandre Nsakanda closed the gap to 15-12
>Behind the serving of Schneidmiller and two kills by Apfelbach, UCI caught the Waves, 17-17
>A block by Apfelbach and Wilmot, an ace by Apfelbach gave the Anteaters the 20-19 advantage
>A Pepperdine service and attack error would hand UCI the set 26-24

SET 4
>A 4-0 spurt by Pepperdine moved the Waves in front 12-10
>A Wave service and attack error plus a block by Stadick and Nsakanda edged UCI to 20-18, but the Waves would score the next two to stop the Anteater momentum
>Pepperdine held set point 24-19 then UCI scored six in a row, three on blocks that included Stadick and capped by a Apfelbach kill, to take a 25-24 lead
>Wieczorek would send the set in to extra points 25-25
>Kills by Wilmot and Koubi ended the set 28-26 and the match 3-1
 
NOTES
>Schneidmiller extended his service ace streak to seven straight matches
>UCI has out-blocked its opponents in the last seven matches

UP NEXT
>UCI will travel to Grand Canyon Friday (Feb. 1) for a double-header with Charleston (9:00 a.m.) and the host Antelopes at 5:00 p.m.