SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – UC Irvine had a season-high 10 blocks in a 3-2 loss to Cal Poly (25-16, 25-22, 22-25, 20-25, 8-15) at Mott Athletics Center.

The Anteaters out-blocked an opponent for the second time this season, 10-6. UCI hit .397 (30-3-68) in the first two sets then just .142 (29-15-98) in the final three games.

Cal Poly wins its fourth reverse sweep in the last seven matches, while UCI drops its second consecutive match after winning the first two sets.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Rightside hitter Hunter Riedl led the Anteaters with 15 kills
>Middle blocker Ella Gardiner added 11 kills and a career-best five block assists
>Outside hitter Kendra MacDonald had nine kills, seven digs and two blocks
>Outside hitter Marianna Bertolone totaled eight kills, eight digs and three blocks
>Setter Nicole Feliciano recorded eight kills, 35 set assists and 11 digs
>Grad student Isabella Scarlett put away seven kills and had four total blocks
>Libero Campbell Jensen popped up 20 digs, the sixth 20-dig performance of the year
>Cal Poly out-dug UCI 72-57 and held a 7-1 ace advantage
>Cal Poly's Lizzy Markovska had a match-best 19 kills

FIRST SET
>Hunter Riedl banged a ball down the line to start the match
>Another kill by Riedl was followed by a Mustang attack error and a kill on an overpass from Ella Gardiner, 4-1
>Isabella Scarlett came into the set and immediately made an impact with a solo block and two kills to give UCI a 9-5 lead
>A pair of Cal Poly attack errors forced a Mustang timeout at 11-6 the another kill by Scarlett and a Cal Poly attack error caused another break, 18-12
>A 3-0 run by CP brought the Mustangs within 18-15 until a Marianna Bertolone kill stopped the momentum and started a 7-1 run which was capped by a Gardiner and Riedl block, to end the set, 25-16
>UCI hits .412 (16-2-34) including nine kills by the middles

SECOND SET
>A Cal Poly error and a kill by Riedl started the second set, 2-0
>Back-to-back kills by Kendra MacDonald and Riedl pushed the advantage to 5-1
>Cal Poly would have the next three kills to close to 5-4 then would catch the Anteaters at 8-8
>Two blocks helped UCI keep the lead, 10-8
>A kill by Feliciano got the Anteaters to the media timeout leading 15-13 without a team hitting error
>Out of the break, UCI used a Mustang ball handling error and a block by Gardiner and Bertolone, 17-13
>Cal Poly responded with three in a row, 17-16, then UCI's first attack error of the set tied the set at 18-18
>A kill by Feliciano and a block by Bertolone and Scarlett answered the charging Mustangs, 20-18
>At 21-21, a kill by Riedl and MacDonald kept control, 23-21
>Following a Cal Poly kill, a kill by Riedl and a Mustang attack error gave the Anteaters the set, 25-22
>Anteaters commit just one attack error in the set (14-1-34)

THIRD SET
>Kills by Riedl and Gardiner plus a block by Feliciano, a Mustang attack error and a block by Gardiner and MacDonald were part of a 5-0 UCI run, 6-2
>The Mustangs would rally on the next seven straight to move in front 9-6
>A kill by MacDonald and a Cal Poly error edged UCI to 13-14, but the Mustangs answered with consecutive kills
>A great dig by Campbell Jensen led to a kill by Riedl 19-21
>Consecutive kills by Bertolone and Gardiner narrowed the deficit to 21-22
>A kill by Riedl forced a Cal Poly timeout, 22-23
>Cal Poly had the final two points, a kill and UCI attack error, 25-22

FOURTH SET
>Feliciano starts with an ace
>Three consecutive Cal Poly errors hands UCI a 5-2 lead
>The Mustangs would take their first lead at 7-7
>Gardiner and Feliciano would share a block to move the Anteaters back in front, 9-8
>Three kills by the Mustangs gives CP a 13-11 advantage
>The Anteaters would tie the set at 14 all only to watch Cal Poly score the next five, 19-14
>A pair of Gardiner kills made it 18-20 then two Mustangs errors closed to 20-21
>Cal Poly stood strong with the next four, 25-20 to force a fifth set

FIFTH SET
>A 3-0 spurt by Cal Poly was halted by a Bertolone kill, 3-2
>Another three in a row gave Cal Poly a 7-3 lead
>Following an Emma Spindt kill, CP had three to push the margin to 10-4
>At match point, UCI used two Mustang errors to stay alive until a kill by Tommi Stockham ended the set with a kill, 15-8

NOTES
>UCI is 0-4 in five setters in 2023
>Riedl has posted 15 or more kills in three of the last five matches

UP NEXT
UCI heads to league-leading UC Santa Barbara tomorrow for a 7:00 p.m. match at The Thunderdome.