IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine comeback came up short in a five-set loss to BYU (23-25, 23-25, 25-17, 27-25, 12-15) in the first of two matches from at Smith Fieldhouse.

The Cougars took the first two sets on the strength of a 5-0 ace advantage. The Anteaters would limit BYU to four more aces over the next three sets and record two of their own, while hitting .451 (29-6-51) in Sets 3 and 4 to force a fifth game. BYU looked like they would run away with the final set, but UCI showed its grit, rallying from down 6-13 to close to 12-14 before the Cougars would close it out with a kill, 15-12.

No. 13 UCI snaps a two-match winning streak and goes to 3-2 overall while No. 10 BYU picks up its first win of the season (1-2) in front of 3,174 fans.

UCI HEAD COACH DAVID KNIFFIN SAID
"We were better in games 3 & 4 than we were in games 1 & 2. We made changes. We adapted to the environment. We leaned into the environment."

"This team is special. Even when we were down in Game 5, the win never felt out of reach. We'll stay married to the process and improve every time we step on the court, just like we did tonight."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Outside hitter Francesco Sani was one shy of his career-high with a match-high 23 kills
>Opposite Hilir Henno followed with his second double-double. The freshman totaled 17 kills and a match-high 15 digs
>Outside hitter Cole Gillis tied his season-high in kills with 10 and recorded a season-high in digs with 10
>Middle blocker Connor Campbell matched his career-best total blocks with one solo and seven assists
>Setter Dylan Zhai had a season-high 52 set assists and four block assists to go with eight digs
>BYU was led by Davide Gardini with 18 kills and Alex Ah Sue with 15
>The Anteaters out-hit BYU .331 to .216 and held a 42-32 dig advantage. The Cougars led UCI in blocking 16-12 and at the service line, 9-2

FIRST SET
>The Anteaters started with the first three points on two kills by Francesco Sani and one by Hilir Henno
>Another kill by Sani put UCI up 4-1 and the Anteaters would lead 5-2 before BYU went on an 8-2 run to take a 10-7 lead
>UCI answered with a kill by Sani and two Cougar attack errors, the last a block by Henno and Connor Campbell, 10-10
>BYU broke away late with a 3-1 run to move ahead 21-18
>The Anteaters respond once again on a 4-1 run of their own, which included kills by Campbell, Sani and Cole Gillis to close within 23-24
>A kill by Alex Ah Sue gave BYU the set 25-23

SECOND SET
>This time BYU started with the quick 3-0 lead
>A jump set to the back corner by Henno was followed by a block by Campbell and Gillis to draw within 4-5
>BYU would score the next three, two on UCI mistakes, to open an 8-4 lead and force a timeout by head coach David Kniffin
>Two kills by Henno and a BYU attack error got UCI once again to within one, 10-11
>A BYU service error and a kill by Sani knotted the score at 12-12, but back-to-back errors by the Anteaters helped the Cougars back to the lead, 14-12
>Kill by Gillis and one by Henno from Dylan Zhai save over the press table helped the Anteaters catch BYU at 16-16
>A BYU kill and ace plus a UCI attack error catapulted the Cougars back to a 19-16 advantage
>Three straight Cougar errors, one a block by Henno and Campbell tied it again, 19-19
>BYU would have the next two kills, 21-19
>Dahm would hammer a ball in the middle and Sani and Campbell would lock down the net, 22-22
>The teams would trade points until consecutive kills by Davide Gardini gives BYU the 25-23 win

THIRD SET  
>Three BYU errors and an ace by Campbell moved UCI in front 6-2 and forces a BYU timeout
>Kills by Sani and Henno increased the gap to 8-3
>An important challenge by Kniffin on four contacts by BYU made it 18-13
>Two blocks by Campbell and Zhai and kills by Gillis and Henno increased the lead, 23-16
>A solo block by Doug Dahm ended it, 25-17
>Anteaters hit .500 (11-1-10) to BYU's .069 (11-9-29)

FOURTH SET
>Sani pounded a ball then hit one off the block, 2-1
>A Cougar ace trickles over the net, 3-4
>A ball that had to be replayed due to fan interference led to a BYU service error that was followed by a block by Dahm and Henno, 6-5
>A stretch of six points included five service errors, 11-10
>Next, a kill by BYU, a triple block and a UCI attack error, 11-13
>A Zhai dump stopped the momentum, 12-13
>Another successful Anteater challenge tied the set at 14-14
>A kill and block assist by Gardini moved the Cougars in front, 19-18
>A Sani kill inside the block and a cut shot by Gillis put UCI back in front 21-20
>A 3-1 run gave BYU match point 24-23, but a tight set forced the Cougars into the net, 24-24
>Down 24-25, UCI had kills by Campbell and Gillis, turning the tide and forcing a BYU timeout, 26-25
>Sani unloaded on a serve that puts the Cougar offense out of system and Gillis took advantage with the set winner, 27-25

FIFTH SET
>BYU jumped out quickly with a 5-2 lead
>Back-to-back blocks by the Cougars make UCI call timeout, 7-3
>Two UCI attack errors and a BYU ace, 12-5
>UCI wouldn't go away, down 13-6, the Anteaters had would close to 12-14 on kills by Campbell and Sani
>A Cougar ball would find the court on the Anteaters' side to end the match, 15-13  

NOTES
>The Anteaters are 0-2 in five set matches this season
>Two aces are a season low for UCI
>BYU has won the last three meetings

UP NEXT
The two teams tangle again tomorrow (Jan. 22) at 6:00 p.m. in Smith Fieldhouse.