IRVINE, Calif. – No. 8 UC Irvine started the 2020 season by closing 2019 with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-15, 25-20) victory over No. 10 Princeton Sunday at Bren Events Center.

UCI out-hit Princeton .316 to .163 and held the advantage in aces (7-4), blocks (10-7.5) and digs (31-27).

COACH DAVID KNIFFIN SAID
"I like that we didn't try to play beyond our abilities in December. We kept it simple and I know we have more in us as far as potential, but kept it simple tonight. It is nice to pick up a win against a top team from a top conference."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>UCI was led by sophomore Alexandre Nsakanda with 11 kills, hitting .500 (11-1-20). He added two aces and two block assists
>Junior Joel Schneidmiller recorded eight kills, three aces and a team-high seven digs
>Senior Scott Stadick and JB Kam pitched in six kills apiece with Stadick posting a match-best six total blocks and an ace
>Redshirt freshman setter Patrick Vorenkamp totaled 27 set assists and two blocks, while matching Schneidmiller with seven digs in his debut
>Dixon parker paced the Tigers with 10 kills and seven digs

TURNING POINTS
FIRST SET
>A 4-0 run which included a block by Scott Stadick and Alexandre Nsakanda and was capped by Nsakanda kill opened a UCI 22-19 lead
>Another kill by Nsakanda clinched the set, 25-23

SECOND SET
>Behind the serving of Nsakanda, the Anteaters jumped out to a quick 11-3 lead and never looked back, winning the set 25-15
>The early out-burst which included a 6-0 run had back-to-back blocks, the first by Sean Dennis and JB Kam and the second by Dennis and Patrick Vorenkamp as well as two aces by Nsakanda
>UCI hit .529 (10-1-17) in the set, while the Tigers hit .136 (9-6-22)

THIRD SET
>An ace by Sean Dennis was followed by a pair of blocks Stadick, one with Joel Schneidmiller and one solo to put the Anteaters up 11-8
>A pair of aces by George Huhmann helped Princeton close within 17-16
>After a Tiger service error stopped the momentum and UCI went on a 3-1 spurt to sneak ahead 20-17
>Schneidmiller fired a pair of aces to close out the match, 25-20

NOTES
>The Anteaters started the decade with a win and end with another. UCI won two national championships in the last decade (2012, 2013)
>Middle blocker Sean Dennis made the start, logging three kills and four blocks

UP NEXT
>UCI will host Lewis on Jan. 9. First serve from the Bren Events Center starts at 7:00 p.m.