IRVINE, Calif. – No. 4 UC Irvine used its block and the service line to sweep No. 8 Pepperdine, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19) at the Bren Events Center Friday evening.

The Anteaters held an 11-2 advantage in blocks and 8-3 edge in aces. UCI also out-hit the Waves .351 to .115.

Senior outside hitter Hilir Henno led all players with 15 kills. He also recorded two aces, five digs and three total blocks.

UCI improves to 11-4 overall, snapping Pepperdine's six-match winning streak as the Waves go to 10-4 on the year.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Outside hitter Nolan Flexen hit .444 with nine kills to go with four digs, an ace and a block assist
>Freshman middle blocker Micah Goss had a match-best six total blocks (one solo) and hit .625 on five kills in eight swings. He had an ace and three digs
>Setter Joe Karlous posted 31 set assists and match-high nine digs
>Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev tallied four total blocks, three aces, four digs and three kills
>Pepperdine was led by Ethan Watson's seven kills

FIRST SET
>The teams remained close until an ace by Nolan Flexen was followed by a block by Joe Karlous and Micah Goss and a solo rejection by Goss to give UCI some separation, 16-12
>Hilir Henno would fly out of the backrow and crush back-to-back kills to help UCI to a 21-17 lead and force a Pepperdine timeout
>Out of the break, Flexen had a kill, Pepperdine went into the net on an attack, Maxim Grigoriev fired an ace and then a block by Flexen and Goss ended the set 25-17
>The Waves hit .029 to UCI's .423

SECOND SET
>A service error and two attack miscues gave the Anteaters a 3-0 start
>UCI went up, 7-1 following two Grigoriev aces and a block by Goss and William D'Arcy
>A kill by D'Arcy and an ace by Goss extended the lead to 12-4
>The Waves would score three in a row, the last an ace, to close within 9-14
>Four consecutive Pepperdine kills made it interesting, 17-18 until a block by Grigoriev and Henno and an ace Karlous created some room, 20-17
>A kill by Henno gave the Anteaters a 25-21 victory

THIRD SET
>UCI scored three in a row on a Wave service error, kill by Henno and solo block by Grigoriev, 10-8
>Four straight kills, three by Henno and one by Goss moved the lead to 15-10
>A Wave ace pulled Pepperdine to 17-18 before a block by Grigoriev and Henno was followed by a Henno smash on an overpass, 20-17
>A kill by D'Arcy and a pair of Henno aces made it 23-18
>A kill by D'Arcy and a Wave attack that sailed long ended the match, 25-19

NOTES
>Goss hasn't committed a hitting error in the last three matches, going (16-0-24, .667)
>UCI has won the last four against Pepperdine

UP NEXT
UCI is back in action tomorrow (Mar. 8) against Sacred Heart at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.