SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – UC Irvine beat Cal Poly in convincing fashion Saturday afternoon at the Mott Athletic Complex by the scores of 25-18, 25-22, 32-30.

UCI hadn't beaten Cal Poly since 2014 and had only taken three sets off the Mustangs during that span before a dominating performance Saturday, including a .345 hitting percentage (54-15-113). The .345 mark was the third best of the season for the Anteaters.

The Anteaters' defense was just as impressive, out-blocking Cal Poly 9-2 and out-digging them 53-39. UCI held the Cal Poly offense to a .157 hitting percentage.

UCI was led by outside hitter Joy Umeh who put away 20 kills, her third consecutive match with 20 or more kills. The reining Big West Offensive Player of the Week continued to shine, hitting .366 (20-5-41) and recording a dig and two blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Marianna Bertolone posted a career-high 14 kills and a career and match-high 15 digs.  

UCI is 13-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big West standings, while Cal Poly goes to 9-12 on the season and 7-3 in league action.

HEAD COACH ASHLIE HAIN SAID
"Our team fight and resiliency are great qualities to have for a young team. Now it's about being consistent from game to game, match to match and playing at that level. We are capable of a high level it's just about consistency."

"Joy and Onye are coming into their own. They needed that year of training to get consistent which is scary for other teams. They are unstoppable when they are good. They are two of the best athletes in the conference. Joy is 5-8 and plays bigger than anyone on the court and its inspiring to see. They are becoming leaders on our team and the potential for growth is exciting."

"We talked about Grace and Marianna stepping up and they were huge this match. They played consistently and Grace had the match winner. I love seeing them be successful and gaining confidence moving forward. If they can join Joy and Onye in consistency we will be a really balanced team. It's all about looking forward with this team."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu did not commit an error with six kills and six total blocks
>Freshman Grace Colburn added eight kills and nine digs, while freshman Ellen Veargason had six kills and four blocks
>Kelly Negron totaled her fifth double-double of the year with 23 set assists and 10 digs
>Cal Poly was paced by Tommi Stockham with 16 kills

FIRST SET
>UCI jumped out to an early 8-5 lead on two kills and two blocks by Onye Ofoegbu
>They expanded the lead to 19-12 on kills by Ofoegbu, Ellen Veargason, and Marianna Bertolone
>UCI led 22-15 before Cal Poly rallied scoring three in a row to close to 22-18
>Joy Umeh would record two more kills and Colburn would end it, 25-18

SECOND SET
>UCI once again started quickly with a 5-1 lead on the strength of two Umeh kills and an ace by Carly Richter
>A kill by Umeh and a block by Soana Leaea and Umeh forced CP to call timeout, 11-5
>The Mustangs would peel off five straight to narrow the lead to 11-10
>Kills by Grace Colburn and Umeh stopped the momentum, 13-10
>Cal Poly would have a pair of kills to knot the score at 14-14
>Ofoegbu took control with a couple of blocks and a kill down the middle, 19-15
>A UCI service error started a 3-0 spurt by Cal Poly to close withing 21-20
>Out of a timeout, Veargason once again did not let the Mustangs get over the hump, 22-20
>A block by Umeh and Leaea gave the Anteaters the win 25-22

THIRD SET
>With the score tied 4-4, UCI went on a 4-1 run which included three kills by Umeh, 8-5
>Cal Poly scored four in a row and took a 13-11 lead
>Trailing 14-12, the Anteaters scored three consecutive points on kills by Umeh and Colburn and an ace by Richter to move back in front 15-14
>Cal Poly would hold set point 24-22 before UCI battled back on a kill by Umeh and a block by Ofoegbu and Colburn followed by a Mustang attack error, 25-24
>A ball that was kept alive by a Mustang foot helped Cal Poly continue to play, 25-25
and score the next point, 26-25
>UCI would not falter and the teams would trade points until the Anteaters used a kill by Umeh and back-to-back kills by Colburn to end the set 32-30 and the match 3-0

NOTES
>Libero Carly Richter recorded two more aces to bring her weekend total to seven and her season total to 22
>The third set (32-30) was the longest of the year for the Anteaters
>UCI has had nine or more blocks nine times this season
>It is the sixth sweep of the season
>UCI did not hit lower than .304 in any set
>UCI's last win against the Mustangs was Nov. 7, 2014 in San Luis Obispo

UP NEXT
UCI returns home to host UC Santa Barbara Friday (Oct. 29) at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center and then entertain CSUN Saturday (Oct. 30) at 5:00 p.m.