Box Score AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – UC Irvine rallied down 0-2, but in the end were edged out by Virginia Tech 3-2 (25-19, 25-14, 22-25, 22-25, 15-8) in the first match of the Amy Svoboda Memorial Classic held in the Academy's Cadet East Gym.

A trio of Anteaters led UCI with double-digit kills, including career-high kill performances by junior Cassie Stewart (12) and freshman Onye Ofoegbu (9).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Sophomore Abby Marjama led UCI with 14 kills and a season and team-high 16 digs
>Stewart moved in to the middle and hit .571 (12-0-21) with thee total blocks
> The Hokies topped UCI in all statistical categories, hitting (.253-.203), serving (4-3), blocking (9-8) and digs (61-51)
>Cera Powell and Tessa Wyner paced VT with 17 kills each

TURNING POINTS
FIRST SET
>Virgina Tech scored four straight points to take a 7-2 lead and the Anteaters could never recover losing the set 25-19
>UCI would hit just .077 (12-9-39) in the opening stanza

SECOND SET
>Two four point swings by the Hokies gave Virginia Tech a 13-7 advantage then a 20-11 lead
>The Anteater offense was better at .227, but the Hokies controlled the set, hitting .545 (14-2-22) for the 25-14 win

THIRD SET
>Kills by Kiani Stanton, Onye Ofoegbu and Abby Marjama gave UCI an early 6-2 lead
>Two VT attack errors and an ace by Marjama made the gap 17-13
>The Anteaters would watch the margin narrow to 24-22 on a Hokie kill, but a kill by Cassie Stewart would give UCI the victory, 25-22

FOURTH SET
>The teams remained close the entire set and after being tied 20-20, a kill by Stewart plus a VT attack error gave the Anteaters a 22-20 cushion
>UCI would close the set on a kill by Ofoegbu and a Hokie attack error, 25-22

FIFTH SET
> The final frame was all Virginia Tech, scoring three of the first four points on kills by Tessa Wyner
>A bad set by the Hokie setter helped UCI edge to 9-6, but Virginia Tech would finish out the match out-scoring UCI 6-2 for the 15-8 win

NOTES
>Marjama also added two aces to up her team-leading total to 12
>Ofoegbu posted three block assists, recording a block assist in each match this season
>Kiani Stanton appeared in her fourth career match and pounded a career-best four kills

UP NEXT
>Later tonight, UCI will play host Air Force at 6:00 p.m. PT