No. 5 UC Irvine Takes Undefeated League Record To No. 1 Hawaii
April 06, 2023 | Men's Volleyball
THIS WEEK
No. 5 UC Irvine at No. 1 Hawaii
Friday, Apr. 7 | 7:00 PM | SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats Watch
No. 5 UC Irvine at No. 1 Hawaii
Saturday, Apr. 8 | 7:00 PM | SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats Watch
FIRST SERVE
No. 5 UC Irvine will take on No. 1 Hawaii twice this week. The teams will battle Friday (Apr. 7) and Saturday (Apr. 8) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Both matches begin at 10:00 p.m. PT
STORYLINES
The Anteaters are 16-6 overall and 6-0 in the Big West.
After going 4-2 in the month of February, UCI bounced back to go 6-1 in March with the lone loss a 3-2 defeat against No. 3 Penn State.
UCI is the only unbeaten team in conference play, taking down UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and CSUN twice each. The Anteaters have won nine consecutive sets with five of the six league wins coming in straight sets.
The Anteaters have swept opponents 11 times this season.
Hawaii has won the 10 outings with the Anteaters, including at 3-2 victory in Irvine and 3-0 triumph in Honolulu last year.
The Anteaters last win at Stan Sheriff was Feb. 25, 2018, 3-1.
Hawaii is 22-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big West.
Their two losses have come to Penn State (1-3) and Long Beach State (0-3).
The Rainbow Warriors have won four in a row, beating UC Santa Barbara twice last week, 3-0.
UCI is ranked fourth in the country in aces with a 1.93 average per set. They are also sixth in assists (11.75), eighth in kills (12.36), 10th in hitting percentage (.324) and 12th in blocks (2.26).
The Anteaters own two of the top three hitting marks in the Big West with a .592 mark at Concordia which is the first and a .542 performance at UC San Diego is third.
UCI shares the top spot for most digs in a match with 61 against Penn State.
The Anteaters also hold the top mark in aces, firing 13 three times, against Pepperdine, Penn State and most recently at UC Santa Barbara.
SANI COLLECTS HONORS
Opposite Francesco Sani was named AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week as well as Big West Offensive Player of the Week.
The junior averaged 6.17 points, 5.67 kills and 1.33 digs, while hitting .397 (34-7-68) over two wins against No. 15 CSUN. Sani was dominant in the win in Northridge with a match-high 23 kills, while hitting .475 (23-4-40). It is the second time this season
he has recorded 23 kills, which is tied for fifth most by a Big West player in 2023. He started the week with 11 kills, two aces, four digs and two block assists against the Matadors at the Bren Events Center.
Sani owns five of the top 10 kill performances by a Big West player this season. He is tied for second with a career-high 26 against BYU then is fifth with 23 versus CSUN and USC and sixth with 22 against Lewis as well as Penn State.
He is fifth in the country in points (4.75) and seventh in kills (3.98). The junior ranks fifth in the Big West in hitting percentage (.327) and 13th in blocks (.627).
HENNO ON THE LINE
Hilir Henno currently has 118 aces in his career which is fourth all-time, 10 shy of former All-American Jayson Jablonsky (2004-07) third place spot. Carson Clark holds the all-time record with 183 from 2009-2012.
He became the season record holder against UC Santa Barbara with 73 and counting. The NCAA record for aces in a season is 100 set in 2011 by Emmanuel's Curtis Abram over 121 sets
The outside hitter leads the country in ace average with a .986 mark, totaling five or more aces seven times this season.
The sophomore is also 11th in the nation in points (4.49) as well as seventh in the Big West in kills (3.34) and hitting percentage (.311) and 13th in digs (1.51).
KARLOUS AT QUARTERBACK
Joe Karlous has made an immediate impact in his first season at setter.
He is sixth in the Big West in set assists (9.02) and fifth in digs (1.90).
The junior has five double-doubles this season and has guided the Anteaters to a .400 or better hitting clip five times this season.
AT THE NET
UCI has out-blocked 14 opponents this season. The Anteaters had a season-high 16 blocks against Pepperdine.
Freshman Maxim Grigoriev holds a 0.94 blocking average and is the reigning Big West Freshman of the Week. He has claimed the top frosh spot three times this season, which is tied with UCSD's Josh Schellinger for most this season.
Junior Connor Campbell has a 0.87 blocking average, while junior Doug Dahm, who has been sidelined due to an injury, owns a 1.08 blocking mark.
POWER SCOOPS 'EM UP
Cole Power leads the team in digs with a 2.01 average.
He has recorded digs in double-figures seven times, including a career-best 18 digs versus Penn State, which is third most among Big West players.
No. 5 UC Irvine at No. 1 Hawaii
Friday, Apr. 7 | 7:00 PM | SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats Watch
No. 5 UC Irvine at No. 1 Hawaii
Saturday, Apr. 8 | 7:00 PM | SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center
Live Stats Watch
FIRST SERVE
No. 5 UC Irvine will take on No. 1 Hawaii twice this week. The teams will battle Friday (Apr. 7) and Saturday (Apr. 8) at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Both matches begin at 10:00 p.m. PT
STORYLINES
The Anteaters are 16-6 overall and 6-0 in the Big West.
After going 4-2 in the month of February, UCI bounced back to go 6-1 in March with the lone loss a 3-2 defeat against No. 3 Penn State.
UCI is the only unbeaten team in conference play, taking down UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and CSUN twice each. The Anteaters have won nine consecutive sets with five of the six league wins coming in straight sets.
The Anteaters have swept opponents 11 times this season.
Hawaii has won the 10 outings with the Anteaters, including at 3-2 victory in Irvine and 3-0 triumph in Honolulu last year.
The Anteaters last win at Stan Sheriff was Feb. 25, 2018, 3-1.
Hawaii is 22-2 overall and 5-1 in the Big West.
Their two losses have come to Penn State (1-3) and Long Beach State (0-3).
The Rainbow Warriors have won four in a row, beating UC Santa Barbara twice last week, 3-0.
UCI is ranked fourth in the country in aces with a 1.93 average per set. They are also sixth in assists (11.75), eighth in kills (12.36), 10th in hitting percentage (.324) and 12th in blocks (2.26).
The Anteaters own two of the top three hitting marks in the Big West with a .592 mark at Concordia which is the first and a .542 performance at UC San Diego is third.
UCI shares the top spot for most digs in a match with 61 against Penn State.
The Anteaters also hold the top mark in aces, firing 13 three times, against Pepperdine, Penn State and most recently at UC Santa Barbara.
SANI COLLECTS HONORS
Opposite Francesco Sani was named AVCA National Collegiate Player of the Week as well as Big West Offensive Player of the Week.
The junior averaged 6.17 points, 5.67 kills and 1.33 digs, while hitting .397 (34-7-68) over two wins against No. 15 CSUN. Sani was dominant in the win in Northridge with a match-high 23 kills, while hitting .475 (23-4-40). It is the second time this season
he has recorded 23 kills, which is tied for fifth most by a Big West player in 2023. He started the week with 11 kills, two aces, four digs and two block assists against the Matadors at the Bren Events Center.
Sani owns five of the top 10 kill performances by a Big West player this season. He is tied for second with a career-high 26 against BYU then is fifth with 23 versus CSUN and USC and sixth with 22 against Lewis as well as Penn State.
He is fifth in the country in points (4.75) and seventh in kills (3.98). The junior ranks fifth in the Big West in hitting percentage (.327) and 13th in blocks (.627).
HENNO ON THE LINE
Hilir Henno currently has 118 aces in his career which is fourth all-time, 10 shy of former All-American Jayson Jablonsky (2004-07) third place spot. Carson Clark holds the all-time record with 183 from 2009-2012.
He became the season record holder against UC Santa Barbara with 73 and counting. The NCAA record for aces in a season is 100 set in 2011 by Emmanuel's Curtis Abram over 121 sets
The outside hitter leads the country in ace average with a .986 mark, totaling five or more aces seven times this season.
The sophomore is also 11th in the nation in points (4.49) as well as seventh in the Big West in kills (3.34) and hitting percentage (.311) and 13th in digs (1.51).
KARLOUS AT QUARTERBACK
Joe Karlous has made an immediate impact in his first season at setter.
He is sixth in the Big West in set assists (9.02) and fifth in digs (1.90).
The junior has five double-doubles this season and has guided the Anteaters to a .400 or better hitting clip five times this season.
AT THE NET
UCI has out-blocked 14 opponents this season. The Anteaters had a season-high 16 blocks against Pepperdine.
Freshman Maxim Grigoriev holds a 0.94 blocking average and is the reigning Big West Freshman of the Week. He has claimed the top frosh spot three times this season, which is tied with UCSD's Josh Schellinger for most this season.
Junior Connor Campbell has a 0.87 blocking average, while junior Doug Dahm, who has been sidelined due to an injury, owns a 1.08 blocking mark.
POWER SCOOPS 'EM UP
Cole Power leads the team in digs with a 2.01 average.
He has recorded digs in double-figures seven times, including a career-best 18 digs versus Penn State, which is third most among Big West players.
Players Mentioned
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