NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – No. 3 UC Irvine couldn't get it's offense going in a 3-1 loss to No. 16 CSUN (21-25, 21-25, 26-24, 18-25) at Premier America Credit Union Arena Friday.

The Anteaters, coming off a 13-day layoff, hit a season-low .117 (45-30-128) and watched CSUN record 16 blocks, the sixth most by a Big West team this season.

UCI suffers its first Big West loss (4-1) and goes to 15-7 overall. CSUN upsets its second consecutive Top 3 opponent and is 11-11 overall and 2-3 in the Big West.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Outside hitter Hilir Henno led UCI with 13 kills. He recorded seven digs, five total blocks and an ace
>Middle blocker Connor Campbell recorded nine kills and a team-best six total blocks
>Outside hitter Nolan Flexen returned to court adding nine kills and four digs
>Opposite William D'Arcy had eight kills and an ace
>Setter Brett Sheward tallied 37 set assists and nine digs
>Libero Cole Power had a team-best 10 digs
>CSUN was led by Kyle Hobus' match-best 19 kills
>The Matadors hit .277 (50-19-112) and held a slight 41-39 lead in digs

FIRST SET
>CSUN jumped out the quick 3-1 lead until consecutive kills by Connor Campbell and William D'Arcy tied it up
>UCI used a 5-1 run, two kills and a block by Campbell to move out to a 7-5 lead
>CSUN would rally to tie the set at 16-16 , but UCI would respond with the next three, two Matador attack errors and an ace by Akhil Tangutur, 19-16
>Leading 20-18, UCI would have four consecutive errors to help CSUN take a 22-20 lead
>Following a timeout, UCI would record a triple block by Campbell, Hilir Henno and Nolan Flexen before the Matadors had two kills and a UCI attack error to win the set 25-21
>UCI hit .121 (13-9-33) with the help of seven CSUN blocks

SECOND SET
>CSUN would use a pair of kills, UCI attack error and an ace to take an 8-4 lead
>Two more UCI attack errors and another Matador kill pushed CSUN's lead to 11-5
>Two CSUN attack errors and a kill by Henno got UCI closer, 12-15, but the Matadors answered with the next two, 12-17
>CSUN would never lose command and win 25-21
>The Anteaters offensive woes continued hitting .120

THIRD SET
>Consecutive kills by Flexen and D'Arcy helped the Anteaters to a 8-6 lead
>Another kill by D'Arcy and an ace by Henno forced a CSUN timeout, 13-9
>Back-to-back kills by Flexen was followed by an ace by D'Arcy extending the margin to 17-11
>UCI would lead 17-12 before the Matadors rattled off three in a row to close to 17-14
>A block by Henno and Campbell capped a 3-0 spurt by UCI, giving the Anteaters a 22-17 advantage
>A 4-1 run, three points on UCI errors, forced a UCI timeout as CSUN creeped to 23-21
>Two kills and a block by the Matadors tied the set at 24 all
>UCI ended it with a kill by Flexen and a CSUN attack error, 26-24

FOURTH SET
>Consecutive UCI attack errors gave CSUN the early advantage 8-6
>Three in a row, two kills and another Anteater attack error extended the margin to 11-7
>Another three in a row gave CSUN the 14-9 advantage
>Two Matador mistakes gave UCI life, 17-21
>CSUN would out-score UCI 4-1 to end the night, 25-18

NOTES
>CSUN snaps a four match losing streak against the Anteaters
>16 blocks are the second most against the Anteaters this season
>Henno is now 15 aces behind Carson Clark's all-time record of 183
>Power has recorded double-digit digs eight times this season

UP NEXT
The two teams will meet again tomorrow in Irvine. First serve from the Bren Events Center is 6:00 p.m.