NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Opposite Francesco Sani put away a match-high 23 kills in fifth-ranked UC Irvine's 3-0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-19) win over No. 15 CSUN at Premier America Credit Union Arena.

Sani hit .475 on 23 kills, four errors and 40 attempts. It is the second time Sani has recorded 23 kills this season, which is tied for fifth most by a Big West player this season. He also had four digs in the win.

UCI improves to 16-6 on the year and 6-0 in the Big West. The Anteaters have won six straight matches and nine consecutive sets.

INISDE THE NUMBERS
>Outside hitter Hilir Henno improved his nation leading ace total to 73 with three on the night to go with seven kills, four digs and two block assists
>Middle blocker Connor Campbell totaled six kills and four total blocks (2 solo, 2 assisted)
>Libero Cole Power scooped 11 digs to lead all players
>Outside hitter Cole Gillis added five kills and six blocks
>Setter Joe Karlous had 34 set assists and five digs
>The Matadors (12-11, 1-5) were led by Kyle Hobus with 13 kills and nine digs
>The Anteaters out-hit (.356-.303), out-blocked (7-6), out-dug (33-24) and out-aced (4-2) CSUN

FIRST SET
>The teams would stay close until back-to-back hitting errors gave CSUN a 15-13 lead
>The lead was short-lived as UCI had four straight, using a Matador service error, two kills by Francesco Sani and another by Henno, 17-15
>Consecutive kills by CSUN would knot the set at 19-19, but the Anteaters answered on a block by Connor Campbell and Hilir Henno and a kill y Campbell to move back in front 21-19
>Following a CSUN timeout, Cole Power made a hustle play to track down a dig which led to a Campbell solo block, 22-19
>The Matadors wouldn't go away, edging within 22-21
>CSUN helped UCI's cause with six service errors. The Matadors only had two attack errors

SECOND SET
>After the Matadors started 3-1 there would be five ties then CSUN would go on a 4-1 spurt to create some  separation, 11-8
>CSUN led 16-13 before UCI would chip away on kills by Campbell, Henno and Sani followed by an ace by Henno to tie the set at 17-17
>Kniffin used the green card to overturn a call, giving UCI a 19-18 lead then Sani put down a kill, 20-18
>CSUN would score the next two to keep the match deadlocked
>Back-to-back Matador errors helped UCI to a 23-21 lead and the Anteaters would hold set point 24-22 only to watch CSUN score two straight to keep the set going, 24-24
>Teams would match points until kills by Gillis and Sani ended the set, 28-26

THIRD SET
>UCI would hold a 5-3 lead after a kill by Henno, a block by Henno and Campbell and a kill by Sani
>A Matador service error started three unanswered, including another Henno ace, 8-4
>Consecutive CSUN errors made it 14-11 and another two made it 17-14
>CSUN would fight off two match-points before Sani appropriately ended the match with a kill out of the backrow, 25-19

NOTES
>It is the sixth time Sani has recorded 20 or more kills this season
>Power has recorded double-digit digs seven times
>UCI has out-blocked opponents 14 times
>It is the 10th sweep of the year

UP NEXT
UCI will head to Hawaii for a pair of matches next week. The teams will face-off on Friday (Apr. 7) and Saturday (Apr. 8) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Both matches start at 10:00 p.m. PT