IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine could not hold off Idaho State, dropping a five-set loss at the UCI/adidas Invitational held at Crawford Hall Friday.

The Bengals would win 25-23, 14-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-7 on the strength of 19.5 blocks, including six in the final set.

Hunter Riedl led the Anteaters once again with a season-high 18 kills, seven coming in the fourth set. The opposite hit .419 (18-5-31) and had five digs and two blocks.

Outside hitter Kendra MacDonald posted a new career-high with 15 kills, while outside hitter Katie Smith followed with 12.

UCI was tough at the service line, holding a 10-4 advantage led by Smith's career-tying four. Six different Anteaters recorded at least one ace.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Setter Nicole Feliciano had 48 set assists, nine digs, an ace and a block assist
>Libero Campbell Jensen had a team-best 13 digs
>Middle blocker Ella Gardiner added seven kills and a block assist
>Middle blocker Soana Leaea had a career-high six kills and two block assists
>Idaho State would out-hit UCI .293-.208
>ISU had three players with double-digit kills led by Sadie Bluth's 18. Asiah Sopoaga had 17 digs, while Marci Bell rejected eight total blocks (2 solo)

FIRST SET
>Idaho State jumped out to a quick 5-1 start with the help of three consecutive attack errors
>A kill by Ofure Iselen, an ace by Campbell Jensen and a Bengal attack error got the Anteaters back into the set, 4-5
>A block by Iselen and Katie Smith tied the set at 9-9, but Idaho State regained control scoring the next three on a pair of kills and a block, 12-9
>Kills by Hunter Riedl and Kendra MacDonald plus a Smith ace knotted the score at 13s
>A kill and ace gave the Bengals some separation, 16-14
>An ace by MacDonald and a dig that landed in the back corner for a kill by Jensen gave the Anteaters their first lead of the set, 18-17
>Iselen had a kill on a overpass before back-to-back kills by Idaho State put the Bengals at set point, 24-22
>Following a kill by MacDonald, UCI went into the net to hand Idaho State a 25-23 win

SECOND SET
> A kill and ace by Smith propelled UCI to a 3-0 start
>Smith continued to dominate with consecutive kills, 9-5
>A pair of kills by MacDonald put the Anteaters up 15-8
>Soana Leaea made an immediate impact recording her second kill of the set, 22-12
>Another ace by Smith ended the set 25-14
>UCI hit .412 (18-4-34)

THIRD SET
>Kills by Riedl and Smith started the scoring, 2-0
>A kill by Ella Gardiner and an ace by MacDonald moved UCI out to an 8-6 lead only to watch ISU answer with the next three, 9-8
>UCI would lead 14-13 then watch the Bengals close out the set on a 12-4 run, 25-18
>The Bengals hit .538 without committing an attack error (14-0-26)

FOURTH SET
>A ISU service error started a 5-0 UCI spurt which included three Riedl kills, 7-3
>A kill by Leaea found the back line then Iselen smashed an overpass before a Bengal attack was out, 12-7
>Idaho State made a move with a 3-0 run that was capped by an ace, 13-16
>A kill and ace by Riedl put UCI back in control, 19-14
>UCI would win the set 25-18 on a kill by Smith

FIFTH SET
>The fifth set was all Idaho State, jumping out to a 7-1 lead
>ISU would win 15-6, hitting .158 to UCI's -.250

NOTES
>Smith leads the Big West with 13 aces in four matches
>UCI is 0-2 in five-set matches this season

UP NEXT
UCI will take on undefeated Portland at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow at Crawford Hall.