IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine improved to 10-1 at the Bren Events Center with a 3-1 victory over Cal Poly (25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 25-20) Saturday night.

The Anteaters improve to 13-7 overall and 6-4 in the Big West, snapping Cal Poly's six-match winning streak. The Mustangs are 11-9 on the year and drop their second conference match (8-2).

COACH ASHLIE HAIN SAID
"We couldn't be one dimensional so I'm really proud of Kiani and Ellen for stepping up. I was also proud of our ball control especially at the end. We've been talking a lot about fight and consistency and bettering the ball. Bailey made some un-stated plays that made the difference. She has good energy and I trust her."

"It was a good crowd. We are comfortable playing here and love the Taraflex and want to make our fans proud."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Junior Joy Umeh led UCI with 18 kills and four block assists
>Middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu had 11 kills and a match-high eight block assists  
>Opposite Ellen Veargason had a career night with 10 kills to go with four block assists
>Middle blocker Kiani Stanton added nine kills plus four block assists
>Libero Campbell Jensen was once again stellar on defense with a match-high 23 digs
>Setter Kelly Negron had her eighth double-double with 28 set assists and 11 digs plus a two aces
>UCI held an advantage in hitting percentage (.284-.199), digs (71-66) and blocks 12-10
>The Mustangs had 12 aces, the most by an opponent this season and tied for third most by a Big West team. Maia Dvoracek had a match-high seven aces
>Cal Poly was led in kills by Dvoracek and Tommi Stockham with 15 each

FIRST SET
>Cal Poly scored the first two points then UCI unleashed six in a row, including a block by Kiani Stanton and Emma Spindt and three kills by Joy Umeh, 6-2
>The Anteaters were hitting .571 (4-0-7) forcing a Mustang timeout
>Two kills and a Mustang ace knotted the score at 8-8
>Back-to-back kills by Onye Ofoegbu and Spindt gave UCI a two-point cushion, 11-9
>UCI would lead 15-13 before Cal Poly rallied on a 5-1 run to move in front 18-16
>Veragason was clutch, putting away three kills to help UCI to a 21-20 lead before Ofoegbu had a service trickle over the net for an ace, 22-20
>Another Veargason kill started the final 3-1 run to capture the set, 25-21
>Veragason hit .750 with a team-best six kills (6-0-8)

SECOND SET
>Two aces sparked Cal Poly to an 8-4 lead
>Consecutive slams by Umeh and a Negron ace flipped the script, giving UCI a 10-9 lead
>A kill and two UCI errors put Cal Poly back in control, 12-10
>The Anteaters would close to 16-14 on two Mustang attack errors and a kill by Umeh, but CP answered with the next two kills, 18-14
>Kendra MacDonald had a block assist and a kill to edge UCI closer, 18-17
>A pair of kills by Veargason, a Cal Poly service error and a kill by Stanton tied the set at 21 all
>Out of a Cal Poly timeout, the Mustangs scored the final four points to win 25-21
>Both teams struggled offensively with UCI hitting .158  to Cal Poly's 135

THIRD SET
>Cal Poly would lead 6-3 before UCI would score four unanswered, two on kills by Spindt and Veargason and two blocks each assisted by Ofoegbu, 7-6
>The Mustangs responded with four of their own, 10-7
>Two blocks by Ofoegbu and Veargason to go with three Ofoegbu kills put the Anteaters in front 12-10
>A service ace drew Cal Poly to 17-16, but UCI would explode for the next four capped by a Campbell Jensen ace, 21-16
>Ofoegbu continued to dominate the set with two more kills, 23-18
>The Mustangs weren't done, recording the next three, 23-21
>After a CP service bounced off the tape and back on the Mustang side for an error, Cal Poly used a kill and block to get within 24-23
>A kill from Stanton ended the set 25-23
>Ofoegbu would have six kills and three blocks in the set

FOURTH SET
>Cal Poly was out quick, leading 9-3 on the strength of five kills, two aces and a block
>The Mustangs continued to send fire from the service line and would lead 14-7
>UCI would score four in a row on two CP attack errors, a kill by Stanton and a block by Stanton and Umeh, 14-11
>After a UCI service error, the Anteaters continued to roll. A kill deep in the corner by Bailey Darnell was followed by one from Ofoegbu and a block by Ofoegbu and Umeh, 15-14
>An ace by DeSmet tied it at 16-16 and an ace by Darnell put UCI up 18-17
>Umeh put one down from the left then another from the right to give UCI a 22-20 advantage
>Cal Poly would call timeout then a Mustang ball-handling error was followed by a pair of Umeh kills to end the match, 25-20

NOTES
>Umeh has led UCI in kills in each of the last four matches
>Jensen has recorded 20 or more kills in five of the last six matches
>This is only the second four-set match for UCI this season and the first win
>The Anteaters only loss in the Bren Center was a reverse sweep by UCSB on Sept. 24

UP NEXT
UCI heads on the road, traveling to UC Santa Barbara Thursday (Oct. 27) at 7:00 p.m. before visiting CSUN Saturday (Oct. 29) at 5:00 p.m.