IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine stunned No. 25 UC Santa Barbara, 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 26-24, 25-22) at Crawford Hall Friday evening in front of a loud 539 fans.

The Anteaters (7-15, 5-6) snapped UCSB's 11-match winning streak and hand the Gauchos their first Big West loss and only their third of the season (20-3, 10-1).

It is the first win over a ranked opponent since UCI toppled No. 11 Hawaii on the road, 3-2 on Oct. 4, 2019.

Four Anteaters recorded double-figure kills led by outside hitter Marianna Bertolone with 15 kills to go with six digs and two blocks.

Middle blocker Isabella Scarlett was impressive not committing an error and was one shy of a career-best, logging 14 kills and hitting .636 (14-0-22). She also had four block assists.

Middle blocker Ella Gardiner was also one shy of a career-best, pounding 13 kills with five total blocks (2 solo, 3 assisted).

Opposite Hunter Riedl posted 12 kills and five digs, while setter Nicole Feliciano recorded her third consecutive double-double with a career-high 46 set assists and a career-high 19 digs

HEAD COACH ASHLIE HAIN SAID:
"I found a lineup that worked. I'm proud of Mari for taking big swings and leading us. Our middles keep improving. Bella's poise and maturity is impressive."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Libero Campbell Jensen had a match-best 21 digs and three aces
>UCI out-hit the Gauchos .223 to .192 and held a 68-56 dig and 7-5 ace advantage.
>The Gauchos topped UCI at the net with 15 blocks to the Anteaters' nine
>UCSB was led by Michelle Ohwobete's match-high 17 kills

FIRST SET
>A UCSB kill and block gave the Gauchos an 8-5 lead
>A block by Marianna Bertolone and Isabella Scarlett took the Anteaters to 8-9
>Three straight kills by UCI, one from the right from Hunter Riedl, another by Scarlett in the middle and the final one from Lexi Gruszczynski out of the backrow moved the Anteaters in front 11-10
>A Gaucho service error and a dump by Nicole Feliciano made it 14-12
>A solo block by Ella Gardiner forced the media timeout, 15-13
>UCSB would score the next three on a kill, ace and block to regain the lead, 16-15
>The Anteaters would come alive with five straight including two aces by Campbell Jensen and a block by Scarlett and Feliciano, 20-16
>UCI would end the set with the final three points, a kill by Scarlett, an ace by Gruszczynski and a kill by Riedl, 25-19
>Scarlett was impressive, hitting 1.000 (4-0-4) with three block assists

SECOND SET
>Two UCI errors helped UCSB create some separation, 5-3
>Consecutive kills by Emma Napoleon and Riedl knotted the score at 6s
>A kill, block and ace by the Gauchos followed to move them back in control 9-6
>A dump by Feliciano to the corner and an ace by Napoleon tied the set again at 10-10
>The Gauchos would use a 6-2 run to open a 22-18 advantage
>UCSB held set point, 24-21, but UCI wasn't done, recording a kill by Riedl and a UCSB attack error to inch to 23-24
>An Anteater attack nicked the antenna for the UCSB 25-23 win

THIRD SET
>With Napoleon at the service line, UCI scored four in a row, one an ace and two on Gardiner kills, 9-8
>Bertolone would spark UCI with three kills in a 6-1 run, 15-10
>Six UCI errors would help UCSB stay in the set and two consecutive kills by the Gauchos pushed the Santa Barbara in front 22-21
>Back-to-back kills by Scarlett and Gardiner landed the Anteaters at set point, 24-23
>Following a service error, Napoleon and Gardiner knocked down kills for the Anteater win, 26-24
>Bertolone would have six kills in the set

FOURTH SET
>UCSB exploded for the first seven points, four on UCI errors, two courtesy of a block, until Gardiner knocked one down off the slide, 7-1
>UCI would chip away and with the Gauchos leading 12-6, the Anteaters used a kill by Riedl and block by Napoleon and Gardiner and an ace by Indy De Smet to close the gap, 12-9
>UC Santa Barara led 17-13 before a kill by Scarlett, a Gaucho ball-handling error and two attacks that sailed long tied the set at 17-17
>A kill by Gardiner, an ace by Jensen, a kill by Bertolone and a block by Feliciano and Scarlett sealed the upset, 25-22

NOTES
>Maia Niemen made her first career start, adding a career-high six digs
>Jensen upped her team-leading ace total to 24
>The match was moved to Crawford after a facility issue at the Bren forced the relocation. Crawford was the home to Anteater volleyball when head coach Ashlie Hain played

UP NEXT
UCI will host Cal Poly tomorrow (Oct. 28) at 4:00 p.m. at Crawford Hall.