Box Score UC IRVINE PRESS CONFERENCE

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 5 UC Irvine toppled No. 4 Long Beach State 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-20) in the semifinals of the 2023 OUTRIGGER Big West Men's Volleyball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands at the Bren Center Friday.
 
The third-seeded Anteaters advance to the title match and will face No. 1 Hawaii tomorrow (Apr. 22) at 7:30 p.m. in the Bren Events Center. Hawaii swept fourth-seed UC Santa Barbara in straight sets to get to the finale.
 
Outside hitter Hilir Henno carried the offensive load, tying his career-high with 22 kills, hitting .471 (22-6-34). He added two aces, three block assists and shared the team lead in digs with seven.
 
UCI out-blocked the nation's second-best blocking team 12.5 to 5.5. Freshman middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev led the Anteaters with six block assists. Middle blocker Connor Campbell recorded five total blocks (2 solo, 3 assisted) and Francesco Sani pitched in five block assists.
 
The Anteaters hit .329 (39-12-82), while limiting The Beach to a .157 (33-19-89) mark. Long Beach State did not record an ace.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Sani added eight kills and two aces
>Akhil Tangutur made his second consecutive start and tied his season-best with five kills to go with four digs
>Setter Joe Karlous totaled 26 set assists, two digs and two block assists
>Libero Cole Power matched Henno with seven digs
>Clark Godbold paced The Beach with nine kills followed by Sotiris Siapanis with seven kills and a team-high seven digs
 
FIRST SET
>After an opening kill by Hilir Henno, UCI had three errors to hand LBSU a 3-1 lead
>Two kills by Henno and an ace by Francesco Sani moved UCI in front 5-4
>The Beach would score three of their own to regain the lead 10-9
>Another kill by Henno and two Beach attack errors, the last a block by Henno an Connor Campbell gave UCI a short-lived 15-13 lead as Long Beach would score the next two
>UCI created some space on an ace by Henno and two Beach miscues, 18-15
>The Anteaters would remain in control and take the set 25-21 on a LBSU service error
 
SECOND SET
>A block by Campbell and Joe Karlous was followed by a Tangutur tap off the block after a long rally, 5-2
>Three consecutive kills by Henno moved UCI to a 12-7 lead
>A pair of Beach errors extended the margin to 14-8
>Dylan Zhai dove for a dig that sailed over the net and into the back corner of the court for a kill, 17-11
>Anteaters went up 21-14 on a triple block by Sani, Grigoriev and Henno
>A LBSU service error was followed by a Henno kill to give UCI set point, 24-17
>An UCI attack error delayed the winner, a solo block by Campbell, 25-17
>UCI hit .343 (16-4-35), while Long Beach State hit .000 (6-6-34)  
 
THIRD SET
>UCI led 6-4 on a kill by Sani and an ace by Henno before The Beach went on a 4-0 run behind the strong serving of Simon Torwie, 8-6
>LBSU gave it right back with a pair of errors, 8-8
>UCI came alive on a pair of Henno kills and a Sani ace, 15-12
>Stefan Vartigov stepped to the service line and put The Beach out of system allowing UCI to score on a kill by William D'Arcy and a block by D'Arcy and Grigoriev, 19-14
>LBSU closed within 19-16 before Henno had a kill and Tangutur and Grigoriev recorded a block, 21-16
>A 3-1 LBSU spurt once again drew Long Beach to 22-19
>A solo block by Campbell put UCI at match point, 24-19
>An Anteater attack error delayed the victory which was capped by another Henno kill, 25-20
 
NOTES
>UCI advances to the title match for the first time since the Big West sponsored a Championship in 2018
>It is the first postseason win against LBSU, 1-6
>Henno's ace count is up to 86