PHOTO GALLERY    PLAYING WITH A PURPOSE     COURT 21

IRVINE, Calif. – Inspired by the message and purpose behind Court 21, No. 14 UC Irvine swept CSUN, 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 28-26) in a total team effort Saturday at the Bren Events Center.

The Anteaters hit a season-high .395 (41-11-76) and out-blocked CSUN 11-2.

UCI goes to 10-13 overall and 3-5 in the Big West. CSUN is 6-13 on the year and 1-7 in the Big West.

UC IRVINE SETTER PATRICK VORENKAMP
"Stepping out and serving that ball and reading Court 21 was the most emotional I've been in a long time. Thinking about our family and what Tim's legacy means to us, that was a really special moment. We talked in timeouts about what this court means for us and it was heavily felt tonight."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Opposite Francesco Sani led UCI with 14 kills, hitting .435 (14-4-23) and firing two aces
>Outside hitter Cole Gillis had seven kills, while outside hitter Akhil Tangutur had six kills, six digs and four block assists
>Middle blocker Aiden Wolf-Nielsen had a match-high seven total blocks (1 solo, 6 assisted) to go with four kills
>Setter Brian Garcia totaled 36 set assists, four digs, three kills, two aces and two blocks
>Libero Cole Power had a match-high seven digs
>CSUN's Daniel Wetter had a match-high 15 kills, hitting .667 (15-1-21)

FIRST SET
>A kill by Akhil Tangutur and a solo block by Brian Garcia got UCI out to a 6-3 lead
>Four consecutive errors by CSUN helped the Anteaters to a 14-9 margin
>Another rejection by Garcia and Wolf-Niesen moved the advantage to 20-12
>The final three points were all UCI, a kill by Cole Gillis, a block by Francesco Sani and Wolf-Nielsen and an ace by Garcia

SECOND SET
>A backhand dump and ace by Garcia was followed by a block by Gillis and Wolf-Nielsen giving UCI an early 3-1 advantage
>The Matadors went on a 5-1 run to move in front 10-8
>The Anteaters came alive for the next four points including two kills by Gillis and Wolf-Nielsen levitating above the net for a solo block, 12-10
>A 5-1 spurt by CSUN flipped the script and gave the Matadors the 21-19 lead forcing a UCI timeout
>A kill by Gillis and a block by Tangutur and Wolf-Nielsen knotted the score at 21-21
>A kill by Tangutur and a Matador attack error gave UCI set point, 24-23
>Following a CSUN timeout, an ace by Sani clinched it, 25-23
>UCI hit .310 to CSUN's .121

THIRD SET
>CSUN led 6-3 early and continued to lead 13-8
>UCI out-scored CSUN 6-2 to chip away at the deficit, 14-15. UCI used kills by Tangutur, Gillis and Doug Dahm in the run
>CSUN would score three unanswered to regain control, 19-15
>Trailing 23-18, UCI rallied on a block by D. Dahm and Hilir Henno followed by kills by Sani and Henno to tie the game at 23-23
>After trading points, a block by Wolf-Nielsen and Tangutur was followed by a kill by Sani off the block and out of bounds for the comeback victory, 28-26
>The Anteaters hit .621 (20-2-29) in the final frame. The Matadors were also potent offensively with a .485 mark (19-3-33)

NOTES
>UCI's 11 blocks are tied for sixth most this season
>The Anteaters sweep the series and now hold a 38-36 lead over the Matadors in the series records
>Every Anteater eligible to hit recorded at least three kills and all but one had a block
>Court 21 is named after Tim Vorenkamp, brother of UCI setter Patrick, who was a UCI recruit before his passing in 2016. The Vorenkamp's generous donation made the new Taraflex court a possibility

UP NEXT
UCI will close out the regular season hosting Hawaii for a pair of matches Apr. 15 and 16 in the Bren Events Center. Both matches start at 7:00 p.m. UCI will honor its senior class following the match next Saturday