THIS WEEK
No. 19 UC Santa Barbara vs No. 5 UC Irvine
Wednesday, Mar. 13 | 6:00 PM | Bren Events Center
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No. 5 UC Irvine at No. 19 UC Santa Barbara
Friday, Mar. 15 | 6:00 PM | Thunderdome
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FIRST SERVE
No. 5 UCI returns to the Bren Events Center Wednesday (Mar. 13) for a 6:00 p.m. match against No. 19 UC Santa Barbara.

The two teams meet again Friday (Mar. 15) at the Thunderdome. First serve is 6:00 p.m.

STORYLINES
No. 5 UC Irvine enters the week 13-6 overall and 2-0 in the Big West.
 
The Anteaters went to five sets in all three matches at the OUTRIGGER Invitational, toppling No. 1 Grand Canyon to start the tournament before losing to No. 14 Lewis then No. 3 Hawaii in the championship match.
 
UCI handed GCU its first loss of the season, hitting .643 (10-1-14) in the final set and ended the match, hitting .370 (72-15-154). The Anteaters' 72 kills were a season-high and tied for fourth most in the nation in 2024.  
 
Both the Anteaters and Gauchos are looking to snap a two-match losing streak, both coming off five-set defeats.
 
UCI leads the nation in kills (13.43) and assists (12.68) and are fifth in hitting percentage (.339).
 
Junior Hilir Henno leads the country in kills (4.75) and points (5.50).
 
UCSB's Geste Bianchi leads the country in attacks per set (10.27), while UCI's Hilir Henno is third at 9.08.
 
HENNO HAS A WEEK
Hilir Henno dominated the action at the OUTRIGGER Invitational and was honored with Big West Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season and sixth time in his career.

He was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 5.93 kills and 6.33 points per set over three matches at the OUTRIGGER Invitational.

He started by tying his career-high with 29 kills in the upset over No. 1 GCU. He hit .406 with just three errors (29-3-64) plus added eight digs, an ace and a block assist.
 
He followed that performance with 24 kills versus Lewis then closed out the tournament with a impressive performance against No. 3 Hawaii, recording a career-high and nation's best 36 kills. 
 
The 36 kills are one shy of the UCI rally-scoring record, tying Erick Helenihi's mark set in Feb. 20, 2002 against BYU for second. It is also tied for seventh most all-time at UCI.

His 36 kills came on 68 attack attempts which are a UCI rally scoring record and also the most in the country this season.

A UCI player has been named Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week (Brett Sheward).

ABOUT THE GAUCHOS
The Gauchos are looking for their first Big West win (0-3) after dropping a pair of matches to No. 2 Long Beach State last week.
 
UCSB is 7-12 overall, holding a 3-7 record at home and 4-4 mark on the road.
 
UCI has won the last two meetings with UCSB, beating the Gauchos twice last season, 3-2 on the road and 3-0 at home. After dropping the first two sets, UCI rallied on the strength of 12 aces to beat UCSB in five on the road. Hilir Henno had 18 kills and five aces in the win. Henno then led the Anteaters in the second meeting at the Bren with 13 kills and three aces.

SHEWARD SHINES ON DEFENSE
After highlighting Brett Sheward's offense, the grad student went on the defensive last week, recording a career-high 22 digs versus Hawaii.
 
The 22 digs are second most in the rally-scoring era at UCI and third all-time. The 22 are the most in the Big West this season and second most nationally. He also added two block assists a career-best three kills versus UH.
 
Sheward started the week with a double-double, posting a career-high 58 set assists and 10 digs in the upset of No. 1 GCU. His 58 set assists were a career-high and the ninth most in the country this year. The setter also had three total blocks (1 solo) in the upset.
 
For the week, the setter averaged 2.53 digs and 9.47 set assists per set.
 
Overall, Sheward leas the Big West in set assists and is third in the country with a 10.51 average. He is fifth in the Big West in digs with a 1.69 mark.