Ella Gardiner Dominates In Win Over Jax State

Saturday, September 2

Chicago, IL

10:00 a.m.

UC Irvine

2-3,0-0Big West

Jacksonville State

1-5,0-0CUSA

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Jacksonville St.	21	14	16	0
UC Irvine	25	25	25	3

Photo by: Regents of the University of California

Ella Gardiner Dominates In Win Over Jax State

September 02, 2023 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Stacey Shackleford

CHICAGO, Ill. – Ella Gardiner dominated Jacksonville State in UC Irvine's 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-16) victory to wrap up the Windy City Classic at Jones Convocation Center.

Gardiner put down a match and career-high 14 kills while hitting .565 (14-1-23) to lead the Anteaters. She also added two block assists in the win.

UCI hit a season-high .264 (43-15-106) and fired a season-best seven aces.

The Anteaters held a 53-44 advantage in digs led by libero Campbell Jensen with 15. Seven UCI players recorded at least three kills and nine players scooped at least two digs.

HEAD COACH ASHLIE HAIN SAID:
"I was proud of our resiliency after the first weekend. We found a lineup where everyone can contribute. It was really a team effort! I look forward to continuing to improve on this weekend's successful moments."

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Setter Indy De Smet logged a season-high 24 set assists and three aces to go with eight digs
>Opposite Ellen Veargason totaled a season-high eight kills, hitting .368 with two block assists
>Outside hitter Marianna Bertolone added six kills and nine digs
>Morgan McClure had nine kills to top the Gamecocks
>Jax State hit .104 (28-17-106) and held a 6-3.5 advantage in blocks

FIRST SET
>UCI created some early separation on a Gamecock attack error and an ace by Lexi Gruszczynski, 6-4
>Back-to-back kills by Ofure Iselen, two more Jax State errors and a solo block by Iselen extended the advantage to 12-6
>A 3-0 run which included kills by Hunter Riedl and Ella Gardiner and a Gamecock into the net made it 18-8
>Gardiner would be the offense, recording a kill at 20-11 and 22-13
>A pancake dig by Campbell Jensen led to a diving save by Gruszczynski that sailed over the net and hit the floor for a kill, 23-14
>The Anteaters held a 24-16 lead, but Jax State wouldn't go away scoring four in a row before Spindt banged one off a defender to end the set, 25-21

SECOND SET
>A pair of Iselen kills and good serving by Bertolone helped the Anteaters out to a 4-1 lead
>The Gamecocks would go ahead 5-4 on four consecutive UCI errors, the last an ace
>UCI would then rip off the next eight points, sparked by a pair of Ellen Veargason kills and capped by a Jensen ace, 12-5
>A kill by Isabella Scarlett was followed by an ace by Indy De Smet, 19-9
>Gardiner was dominant in the set with six kills had two of them to get to set point, 24-13
>Following a Gamecock kill, Spindt once again had the set-winner, 25-14
>Gardiner did not committ an error in the game, .667 (6-0-9)

THIRD SET
>UCI started the set on a 7-1 run started by consecutive kills by Scarlett, Gardiner and Veargason
>The next three went to Jax State to keep them in the set, 7-4
>A kill, ace and a block brought the Gamecocks close, 12-9 before UCI turned up the heat again, scoring the next three, ending with an ace by Bertolone, 15-9
>Two kills by Veragason plus one each from Gardiner and Spindt created a 19-10 lead
>Scarlett would end it with a kill, 25-16

NOTES
>UCI has won two in a row

UP NEXT
The Anteaters will jump on a plane and return home to host Boston College tomorrow (Sept. 3) for a 1:00 p.m. match. Fans should allow extra time as the athletic complex will be busy with a women's soccer game at the same time.