IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu was named tournament MVP after a dominate performance in a 3-0 win over Dartmouth (25-19, 25-12, 25-23) in the final match of the adidas/UCI Invitational at the Bren Events Center Saturday.

The middle blocker led all players with a season-high 18 kills, hitting .571 (18-2-28). She added five total blocks (1 solo, 4 assisted) as well as an ace.

For the tournament, Ofeogbu averaged 4.11 kills, 5.33 points and 1.78 blocks per set on her way to MVP honors.

Joy Umeh, who recorded 28 kills over the three tournament matches, was also named to the all-tournament team.

The Anteaters, who have won four in a row without losing a set, improve to 4-2 on the year. Dartmouth suffers its first loss, 1-2.

HEAD COACH ASHLIE HAIN SAID:
"Onye is an incredible athlete, but what makes her special is the kind of woman she has become. We have been through a lot of adversity together so I take a lot of pride in her growth and maturity on the court. She is a leader now on our team and embraces challenging situations and finds solutions."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Defense was key. Setter Indy DeSmet had a career-high 18 digs and 11 set assists, while setter Kelly Negron had a season-high 15 digs to go with a match-high 23 set assists. Outside hitter Marianna Bertolone tied her season-high with 10 digs
>Umeh recorded 11 kills, while sophomore Emma Spindt had seven kills to go with nine digs
>Dartmouth hit a season-low .120 to UCI's .265.
>The Big Green out-blocked UCI, 7-6, only the second time the Anteaters have been bested at the net this season

FIRST SET
>A kill by Joy Umeh and three Dartmouth errors helped the Anteaters get out to an early 4-1 lead
>Two Onye Ofoegbu kills and three more Dartmouth attack errors, two on blocks by Ofoegbu increased the lead to 10-3
>Dartmouth would come alive on a 7-2 run to close within 12-10 before a Marianna Bertolone kill stopped the momentum
>A Big Green service error was followed by another kill and block by Ofoegbu, this time with Emma Spindt, 17-13
>Ofoegbu and Spindt would put away consecutive kills to end the set 25-19

SECOND SET
>Ofoegbu would crush an overpass at 4-2 and again at 6-2 before Emma Spindt put away a kill down the line, 7-2
>Kiani Stanton would hang in the air and tap down a kill, 14-7
>Kills by Ofoegbu and Spindt forced a Dartmouth timeout, 19-10
>Ofoegbu continued to dominate adding three more kills and another block assist on the way to UCI's 25-12 victory
>Dartmouth was held to a -.027 hitting percentage

THIRD SET
>Dartmouth was the aggressor in the third set, jumping out to a 7-4 lead before the Anteaters rallied on a Big Green attack error and two Ellen Veargason kills, 7-7
>Trailing 10-11, UCI went to work scoring five straight, including kills by Stanton, Umeh and Spindt, to create some separation, 15-11
>Back-to-back kills by Ofoegbu and Veargason made it 17-12
>Dartmouth wouldn't go away, using two kills and a UCI attack that sailed long to knot the set at 22-22
>The teams would trade points until Ofoegbu had a kill and Dartmouth was called for a ball-handling error to end the set 25-23 and match

NOTES
>This is the first time UCI has won the adidas/UCI Invitational since its start in 2018
>DeSmet has a team-best two double-doubles on the year

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Onye Ofoegbu, UC Irvine – MVP
Joy Umeh, UC Irvine
Emma Engstrom, Dartmouth
Amelia Gibbs, Dartmouth
Sarah Ciszek, Sacred Heart
Emma VanSeveren, Holy Cross

UP NEXT
UCI and Cal State Fullerton will team up for the UCI/CSF Invitational Sept. 8-10. UCI will take on Weber State next Thursday at 6:00 p.m. and Gonzaga Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the Bren Center.