LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 15 UC Irvine pushed No. 4 UCLA to the limit but could not hold off the Bruins in a 3-2 loss (23-25, 25-23, 14-25, 25-16, 11-15) at Pauley Pavilion.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Francesco Sani led UCI with 19 kills, hitting .484 (19-4-31)
>Opposite Hilir Henno added 13 kills, hitting .455 (13-3-22) with three aces
>Middle blocker Connor Campbell and outside hitter Cole Gillie each had six kills with Gillis posting a team-best eight digs
>Four Bruins had double-digit kills led by Ido David's match-high 20. Guy Genius totaled 13 followed by Merrick Mchenry and Ethan Champlin with 10 each
>Both teams were offensively solid with UCLA hitting .402 and UCI hitting .370
>UCLA had 24 service errors, but had eight aces. The Anteaters fired five aces and out-dug UCLA 25-21

FIRST SET
>UCLA went on a 6-0 run which included two aces to open a 10-5 lead
>UCI rallied on three straight kills, the last two by Hilir Henno to creep within 18-21
>Two kills by Francesco Sani narrowed UCLA's lead to 21-23
>After a reversed call on a ball out, UCLA ended the set with a kill, 25-23
>UCI was helped by nine UCLA service errors

SECOND SET
>UCI started with a 6-2 lead on kills by Sani, Cole Gillis, Henno and two kills and an ace by Connor Campbell
>Consecutive kills by Campbell and Sani extended the Anteaters lead to 12-7
>UCLA rallied on an 8-1 run to take their first lead 17-15
>UCI quickly responded with a 8-2 run of their own, to regain the lead, 23-19
>The Bruins wouldn't go away scoring the next three to narrow the deficit to 23-22
>The teams would side out with UCI using a kill by Dylan Zhai and a kill by Sani to clinch the win, 25-23

THIRD SET
>UCLA jumped out to a 5-1 lead
>UCI would close to 6-9 on a Bruin service error before UCLA would score four unanswered to open a 13-6 lead
>UCLA would roll to a 25-14 victory

FOURTH SET
>It was UCI' turn to start with a 5-1 lead on kills by Henno, Sani and Campbell plus two Bruin attack errors
>Another Bruin attack error and an ace by Campbell increased UCI's lead to 7-2
>Two kills and an ace by Henno, and a kill by Sani extended the gap to 15-7
>A kill by Sani was followed by three UCLA attack errors to give UCI set point, 24-15
>Following a Bruin kill, Sani put away a winner to fourth set, 25-16

FIFTH SET
>UCLA would create separation on a kill and ace, 8-6
>Consecutive Bruin kills made it 12-9
>UCLA would have the final two points to clinch the win, 15-11

HEAD COACH DAVID KNIFFIN SAID
"We've accumulated some losses. We've played a tough schedule. And we will continue to play a tough schedule (with Pepperdine next week)
We're playing better in longer stretches. We're gaining confidence in what we can do.

One of my favorite quotes is: "You don't just get to win." And, great teams don't just magically become great.

We are looking forward to tomorrow to rest and recharge. Then back at it. Love working with this crew."

NOTES
>UCI remained winless when going the distance, 0-4

UP NEXT
UCI will travel to Pepperdine Wednesday (Feb. 9) before hosting the Waves on Friday (Feb. 11) at 7:00 p.m.