IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine dropped its final home match in three sets to Hawaii in front of a sell-out crowd at Crawford Hall.
The 'Bows won 25-12, 25-19, 25-16 snapping their two-match losing streak and improving to 18-8 overall and 11-4 in the Big West. UCI goes to 9-18 overall and 7-9 in league play.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Middle blocker
Ella Gardiner led UCI with seven kills, while adding two block assists
>Opposite
Hunter Riedl added six kills and outside hitter
Emma Napoleon had five kills. Both players totaled two block assists
>Middle blocker
Isabella Scarlett had a team-best three block assists
>Freshman
Nicole Feliciano and
Maia Niemen topped the Anteaters with eight digs. Feliciano tallied 21 set assists
>UH out-blocked UCI 11.5-6 and out-hit the Anteaters .363 to .116
>Hawaii was led by Paula Guersching's 12 kills, hitting .545 without an error (12-0-22). Tali Hakas had 11 kills, seven digs and six block assists
FIRST SET
>UCI led 6-4 on an
Emma Napoleon kill and Hawaii attack error before the 'Bows scored five in a row, two on blocks and one on an ace, 9-6
>Six consecutive by Hawaii broke open the set, 21-10
>A kill and a UCI ball-handling error closed out the set, 25-12
SECOND SET
>A 5-1 run by Hawaii moved the 'Bows out to a 6-2 lead
>UCI rallied on a kill and ace by
Marianna Bertolone followed by a block by
Isabella Scarlett and
Hunter Riedl, 5-6
>Hawaii out-scored UCI 5-1, three on kills and two on aces to take a 13-7 lead
>Four consecutive points pushed Hawaii to 17-9
>A block by Hawaii ended the set, 25-19
THIRD SET
>Neither team could get the offense going early as Hawaii used four UCI miscues in a 5-0 run to move out to a 7-3 lead
>Hawaii's Paula Guersching heated up with three consecutive kills, 11-5
>A block by
Kendra MacDonald, an ace by
Campbell Jensen and a kill by
Nicole Feliciano sparked UCI, 11-14
>Another 5-0 run by Hawaii increased the lead to 21-12
>Hawaii would register three straight kills to end the match, 25-16
NOTES
>UCI celebrated graduating seniors
Marianna Bertolone,
Ella Gardiner,
Lexi Gruszczynski and
Isabella Scarlett after the match.
UP NEXT
UCI ends the regular season on the road for the final two matches starting with CSUN Friday (Nov. 17) at 6:00 p.m.
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