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Anteater Classic
Fresno State vs UC Irvine
Friday, Sept. 5 | 7:00 PM | Bren Events Center
Live Stats   Watch: ESPN+

Colorado vs UC Irvine
Saturday, Sept. 6 | 5:00 PM | Bren Events Center 
Live Stats    Watch: ESPN+

Penn vs UC Irvine
Sunday, Sept. 7 | 12:00 PM | Bren Events Center
Live Stats    Watch: ESPN+

FIRST SERVE
UC Irvine will entertain Fresno State, Colorado and Penn Thursday-Sunday (Sept. 4-7) at the Anteater Classic held at the Bren Events Center.

On Friday, the Anteaters will play Fresno State at 7:00 p.m. followed by Colorado on Saturday at 5:00 p.m. UCI closes the tournament Sunday against Penn at noon.

COMPLETE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 4
Fresno State vs Colorado      3:30 p.m.

Friday, Sept. 5
Colorado vs. Penn                    4:00 p.m.
Fresno State vs UC Irvine      7:00 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 6
Penn vs Fresno State              1:00 p.m.
Colorado vs UC Irvine             5:00 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 7
Penn vs UC Irvine                      12:00 p.m.

STORYLINES
UC Irvine is 2-1 after the season opening action at the Wildcat Invitational.

The Anteaters picked up wins versus Southern Utah (3-0) and Nevada (3-2) and a loss against host Weber State (1-3).

UCI has out-blocked each opponent, bettering opponents 34-14 at the net over the three matches.

Middle blocker Ally Bolden leads the Big West in blocking with a 1.33 average.

UCI is ranked fourth in the Big West in blocking with a 2.33 average. The team's season-best 13 blocks versus Southern Utah and Nevada are tied for second most in the conference.

Outside hitter Kendra MacDonald and setter Nicole Feliciano were named to the all-tournament team. MacDonald averaged 2.58 kills and 1.50 digs, while Feliciano averaged 6.75 set assists with eight digs and five block assists.

14 different Anteater players saw action over opening weekend.

Senior Kendra Duffey leads UCI with a 3.00 kill average which is 12th among the Big West player. She put down a team best 18 kills versus Weber State.

Penn head coach Tyler Hagstrom began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach at UC Irvine under Paula Weishoff in 2013 and 2014.

VERSUS THE CLASSIC FIELD
Fresno State opened the year 2-1 at the Wildcat Invitational in Tuscon, Ariz. The Bulldogs beat Texas A&M Corpus Christi (3-2) and Alabama State (3-0) before dropping a contest to host Arizona (0-3).

Fresno State, a former Big West member holds a 16-12 advantage all-time. The Bulldogs have won the last two meeting, the last in 2018 a 3-0 victory.

CU enters the week undefeated at 3-0, sweeping Cleveland State, Tulsa and Wyoming at the Rumble in the Rockies in Laramie, Wyo. The Buffaloes lead the series record with UCI at 2-1 overall.

Colorado and UCI met last year at the Buffs Invitational with CU edging the Anteaters 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 19-25, 25-20, 15-13). After UCI won two of the first three sets, 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 has three wins over Penn, all in 3-0 fashion. The last meeting was 1997. The Quakers will be making their season debut at the Bren Center.

ONLY THE BOLDen
Middle blocker Ally Bolden stepped into the starting middle blocker position and delivered with a 1.83 kills average and 1.33 block average. She leads the Big West in blocks and is seventh in hitting percentage (.353).
In the Wildcat Invitational finale, Bolden had a career-best 12 kills and nine total blocks (1 solo). The nine blocks are the most by a Big West player this season.

JENSEN PICKS UP WHERE SHE LEFT OFF
Campbell Jensen, the Big West Coaches preseason pick, leads the Anteater defense with a 4.33 digs average, good for third in the Big West. The libero also averages 1.00 set assists and has three aces.

The senior collected 22 digs against Nevada, third most in the Big West.

NEWCOMER IMPACT
Outside hitters Lillian Lansing and Madison Triplett and setter Angelina Dellutri made impacts in their Anteater debuts.

Lansing was a consistent force, averaging 2.00 kills, 2.56 digs and 0.89 blocks. The freshman leads the team in aces with 5, firing three in the season opener against Southern Utah.

Triplett played in all 12 sets, averaging 1.58 digs and 0.83 kills. She recorded a career-best six kills and nine digs versus the Wolfpack.

Dellutri came off the bench to average 3.00 set assists and 1.00 digs. She added an ace in each of UCI's first three matches.

LOOKING AHEAD
The Anteater Classic marks the only non-conference matches at home in 2025.

UCI will travel to Asics Invitational in Corvallis, Ore. Sept. 11-13 to take on UNLV, host Oregon State and Montana State.

A trip to Nashville, Tenn. (Sept. 18-20) rounds out the non-conference schedule where the Anteaters will take on Lipscomb, Vanderbilt and Belmont.

UCI starts Big West play in the Bren Center against Black & Blue rival Long Beach State on Sept. 26.