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LONG BEACH, Calif. – Fourth-seed UC Irvine went the distance but was edged by top-seed UCLA, 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 18-25, 15-12) in a NCAA semifinal at the Walter Pyramid Thursday.

An injury to starting outside hitter Akhil Tangutur in the first set changed the dynamic of the match, but the Anteaters wouldn't stop fighting after going down 1-2 rebounded to take the fourth 25-18 and force a fifth set.

AVCA National Player of the Year Hilir Henno did it all, totaling a match-high 22 kills to go with nine digs, four blocks and an ace.

The fourth-ranked Anteaters end the season 20-11 overall.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Junior Nolan Flexen made the start and recorded 13 kills, six digs and a block assist
>Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev hit .625 with 11 kills on 16 attempts and just one error. He added two aces and two blocks
>Setter Brett Sheward posted 43 set assists, six digs and three kills
>UCLA was led by Ethan Champlin's 19 kills and match-high 13 digs
>The Bruins' block was key, besting UCI 11.5 to 7.5 at the net
>UCLA (24-5) hit .404 to UCI's .303 with the Anteaters holding a 6-4 ace advantage

FIRST SET
>Hilir Henno started the match with a solo block followed by Brett Sheward with a two-handed kill on an overpass, 2-0
>A Bruin serve that sailed long was followed by Henno banging it off the block, 5-2
>Back-to-back kills by  Grigoriev and Henno extended the lead to 10-6 and forced a UCLA timeout
>Akhil Tangutur would record a kill but suffer a leg injury on the way down and leave the contest at 11-7
>A 3-1 run by UCLA narrowed the margin to 13-12 before a Bruin service error and an ace and kill out of the backrow by Henno pushed it back to 16-12
>Following a UCLA timeout, Nolan Flexen had a kill from the right side, 17-12
>At the end of a good rally, Henno had a kill on two to put the Anteaters up 20-16
>The Bruins would inch to 22-20 only to watch the teams trade points, the last a UCLA service error that handed UCI a 25-22 victory

SECOND SET
>A kill and solo block by Henno provided another quick start, 2-0
>UCLA answered with the next three, two kills and a block to move in front 3-2
>UCLA would create some separation on a UCI service error and a block, 6-4
>Consecutive Bruin kills made it 10-7
>Out of the media timeout, UCI scored on a UCLA attack error, and two Maxim Grigoriev kills to knot the score at 15s
>UCLA answered with the next two and never lost control, winning 25-20
>The Bruins hit .455 (13-3-22) to UCI's 231

THIRD SET
>UCLA would jump out to an early 4-1 lead
>A Bruin service error plus a kill and block by Sheward and two Henno kills pushed the Anteaters in front 9-8
>Six unanswered by UCLA on five kills and a block broke the set open, 18-13
>UCLA would go on to take the set, 25-16, hitting .538 (16-2-26)

FOURTH SET
>An ace by Grigoriev gave the Anteaters the 4-3 advantage
>William D'Arcy started the set on the outside and fired an ace, 6-4
>A kill by Henno and a block by Grigoriev and D'Arcy made the UCI advantage 10-8
>A 6-1 explosion by UCI which included a pair of Flexen kills, aces by Grigoriev and D'Arcy and a block by Campbell and Flexen catapulted the Anteaters to a 17-11 lead
>A kill inside the block by Henno and an ace by Conner Dahm extended the margin to 20-13
>UCLA rallied with the next three to cut into the lead, 16-20
>The Anteaters would close the set on a 5-2 run, the last two Bruin errors, 25-18
>UCI hit .381 to UCLA's .067

FIFTH SET
>A kill by Grigoriev and a Bruin attack wide help the Anteaters to a 3-1 lead
>A pair of Bruin kills tied it up, 3-3
>The teams would trade points until UCLA had three in a row, two kills by Ethan Champlin and a block, 8-6
>A UCLA service error, a kill by Henno and one by D'Arcy off a Flexen dig turned the tables giving UCI a 9-8 lead
>UCI led 10-9 before a 4-1 run by UCLA which included three UCI errors moved the Bruins back in front, 13-11
>A kill by Henno was followed by two UCLA kills for the Bruin win, 15-12

NOTES
>UCI is 2-5 in five sets this season, with two of the losses coming against the Bruins
>Henno ends the season with 181 career aces, two shy of Carson Clark's UCI all-time record of 183
>Freshman Andon Kiriakou recorded a career-high four digs