BOULDER, Colo. – UC Irvine could not hold off host Colorado in five-set loss at the Buffs Invitational at the CU Events Center Friday evening.

UCI won two of the first three sets (25-21, 17-25, 25-19) before Colorado won the final two 25-20 and 15-13. The Buffs recorded six of their match-best 13 blocks in the fourth set to keep the match going. UCI hit just .077 (19-14-65) in the final two games.

UCI goes to 4-3 overall with all three losses coming in five sets. Colorado improves to 5-3 overall.

Opposite Hunter Riedl once again led UCI with 17 kills to go with a career-best six block assists.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Setter Nicole Feliciano had her third double-double of the season, posting 39 set assists and a match-high 20 digs. She hit .500 with three kills
>Outside hitter Katie Smith also had a double-double with 14 kills and 14 digs to go with two aces
>Outside hitter Emma Napoleon made the start and notched a double-double of her own, recording 10 kills and career-high 12 digs
>Middle blocker Soana Leaea tallied eight kills and joined Riedl at the net with six block assists
>Four CU players recorded double-digit kills led by Sydney Jordan's 16. Cayla Payne added 14 kills and a match-high seven total blocks

FIRST SET
>A block by Soana Leaea and Hunter Riedl was followed by a Leaea kill on an overpass and a kill by Riedl to give UCI an early 4-0 lead
>A kill by Emma Napoleon stretched the lead to 7-1 and forced a Buff timeout
>Colorado rallied with a 6-1 run to close within 7-8 before the Anteaters had back-to-back kills by Riedl and Napoleon
>CU would catch UCI at 11-11 on two Anteater errors
>The Buffs rattled off four unanswered  to move in front 15-13 only to watch UCI score the next four on kills by Leaea, Riedl and a block by Leaea and Riedl, 17-15
>Back-to-back Buffaloes' errors helped UCI to the 20-17 advantage
>Nicole Feliciano had a dump for the set-winner 25-21
>Riedl logged six kills to lead the Anteaters

SECOND SET
>Kendra Duffey recorded her first kill as an Anteater to make it 4-2
>Colorado scored four straight to go up 9-7
>The Buffs went on an 8-1 run to break open the set, 20-11
>Colorado would even the match with a 25-17 win, hitting .452 with four blocks. UCI hit .179 in the frame

THIRD SET
>Kills by Riedl and Napoleon helped UCI to a 4-2 lead
>A cross court kill by Riedl and another kill by Ella Gardiner off the slide extended the margin to 6-3
>Two kills from the middle, one by Leaea and one by Gardiner, upped the score to 9-6
>Napoleon had a kill and solo block before a kill by Gardiner forced a CU timeout, 14-9
>UCI took a 19-12 lead on a kills by Napoleon and Katie Smith  
>Colorado would creep to 19-17 on five consecutive points until a service error stopped the momentum
>Smith had a rally-saving dig then ended the point with a kill, 21-18
>Block by Riedl and Leaea gave UCI the 25-19 victory
> Napoleon had four kills in the set

FOURTH SET
>Colorado created some separation with five straight, including a block and an ace, 8-5
> The Anteaters would chip away and close within 14-15 on a kill and block assist by Gardiner
>CU would record the next four points, three on UCI errors, including two blocks to move back out to a 19-14 lead
>Smith had a free ball over that fell to the floor for a kill (17-21) then Felicano used her shoulder for a back corner kill, 18-23
>CU used six blocks in the set to force a fifth set, 25-20

FIFTH SET
>A Smith ace tied it early 2-2
>Colorado was into the net on consecutive plays to give UCI a slight 8-7 lead at the switch
>Amanda Leinbach had a stab dig then assisted on a kill 9-7
>Colorado tied the set at 10-10 then used a block, an ace and a UCI attack error to move in front 13-11
>A block by Riedl and Leaea stopped the streak, but a ball-handling error put the Buffs at match point
>After a review gave UCI life and a chance for a Riedl kill, Colorado put away a kill to end the match 15-13

NOTES
>Kendra Duffey and Indy De Smet made their season-debuts versus the Buffs

UP NEXT
UCI will face Wyoming at 2:00 p.m. to kick off day two at the Buffs Invitational