SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Irvine could not get the offense going in a 3-0 sweep by league-leading UC Santa Barbara at The Thunderdome Saturday evening. The Gauchos won by the scores of 25-12, 25-14, 25-12.

UCI (3-12, 1-3) hit .024 (25-23-85), the second lowest attack percentage of the season. UCSB hit .408 (38-7-76) and out-blocked the Anteaters 13-2. The Gauchos also held a 9-3 ace advantage.   

UC Santa Barbara, who were receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll, remain one of two schools to be undefeated (4-0) in the Big West standings and are 14-2 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Opposite Hunter Riedl led UCI with a match-high 12 kills and an ace
>Setter Nicole Feliciano had 16 set assists, a team-high six digs and an ace
>Middle blocker Ella Gardiner added five kills and a team-best two block assists
>UCSB's Michelle Ohwobete also had 12 kills and hit .478 (12-1-23). Tasia Farmer hit .500 with eight kills

FIRST SET
>The teams were never farther than a point apart until UCSB went on an 11-0 run that included five UCI errors, two on blocks, to open a 17-7 advantage  
>The Anteaters hit .000 (7-7-32), while UCSB hit .355 (15-4-31) on the way to the 25-12 victory
>Hunter Riedl was a bright spot with five kills, hitting .625 (5-0-8)

SECOND SET
>A kill by Riedl and a Gaucho attack error gave UCI an early 2-0 lead
>UCSB out-scored UCI 6-1 to lead 12-6
>Back-to-back kills by Ella Gardiner and Marianna Bertolone gave UCI some life, 10-16
>A kill by Riedl and an ace by Lexi Gruszczynski delayed a final UCSB kill, 25-15

THIRD SET
>The Gauchos would score the first four, including two blocks and would score four more on the strength of three aces to jump out to an 9-1 lead
>Kills by Emma Spindt and Gardiner stopped the momentum, 3-9
>UCI came alive on an ace by Riedl, a kill by Gardiner and two Gaucho errors, 7-12
>UC Santa Barbara would go on to win the set 25-12

NOTES
>Riedl has led UCI in kills the last three matches

UP NEXT
UCI makes a short trip across the county to face Cal State Fullerton Tuesday (Oct. 3) at Titan Gym.