No. 5 UC Irvine Blanks No.18 UC Santa Barbara

Saturday, April 12

Irvine, CA

6:00 p.m.

UC Irvine

18-6,4-4Big West

UC Santa Barbara

11-14,2-6Big West

Team	1	2	3	Final F
UC Santa Barbara	19	17	17	0
UC Irvine	25	25	25	3

No. 5 UC Irvine Blanks No.18 UC Santa Barbara

April 12, 2025 | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Stacey Shackleford

IRVINE, Calif. – No. 5 UC Irvine recorded its 14th sweep of the season with a 3-0 win over No. 18 UC Santa Barbara (25-19, 25-17, 25-17) at the Bren Events Center Saturday.

UCI fired 11 service aces from six different players and was led by senior Hilir Henno with four. With his aces, Henno continued to chip away at the all-time NCAA mark of 255 with the lefty now standing at 240.

Henno also led the Anteaters with 10 kills and match-high nine digs. The outside hitter passed a perfect 14 balls he was served.

UCI improved to 18-6 overall and 4-4 in the Big West.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Opposite William D'Arcy totaled seven kills, two aces, three digs and two block assists
>Middle blocker Micah Goss had six kills, four digs and two blocks (1 solo)
>Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev posted a team best four total blocks (1 solo), two aces and two kills
>Setter Aidan Rigg had 14 set assists, two kills, two digs and an ace
>The Anteaters out-hit UCSB .224-.138 and held the slight advantage in blocks 6.5-5.0
>The Gauchos, who fall to 11-14 overall and 2-6 in the Big West, were led by Geste Bianchi's match-high 11 kills

FIRST SET
>UCI jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead which included two Hilir Henno aces and a block by Nolan Flexen and Maxim Grigoriev
>Kills by Henno and William D'Arcy and an ace by Flexen stretched it to 12-3
>An ace by Grigoriev made it 17-9
>The Gauchos made a late push, getting to 22-18 on four straight points
>A kill by Henno stopped the UCSB rally then a Grigoriev ace ended the set, 25-19

SECOND SET
>Four consecutive kills, two by Henno and two by D'Arcy gives and a Gaucho into the net gave UCI the 9-6 lead
>D'Arcy added to the ace party, 11-7
>UCSB seemed to inch to 14-13 before UCI won an important challenge with a touch called giving the Anteaters the point, 15-12. An Aidan Rigg ace, Flexen kill on an overpass, and a Micah Goss solo block followed, 18-12
>UCSB was out of rotation giving the Anteaters a point before Goss fired an ace to get to set point, 24-14
>Two kills and a block delayed the end of the set which came on a Gaucho attack out of bounds ended the set, 25-17

THIRD SET
>UCI would build a 10-7 lead on a D'Arcy kill then watch UCSB tie the set at 11-11
>A Gaucho service error and back-to-back blocks, a solo and block assist by Grigoriev gave UCI the 16-13 edge
>Six straight including a kills by Henno, D'Arcy, Goss and Rigg, an ace by D'Arcy and a Gaucho attack error helped the Anteaters to a 23-15 lead
>An ace by Henno capped the night, 25-17

NOTES
>It's the sixth time Henno has recorded four or more aces in a match this season
>UCI has won three in a row
>It's the fifth time this season an opponent has hit .138 or lower

UP NEXT
UCI plays its final regular season home match Thursday (Apr. 17) at 6:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center. Following the match, UCI will honor graduating student-athletes Nolan Flexen, Joe Karlous, Hilir Henno and Maxim Grigoriev.