IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine could not close out Colorado in a five-set loss at the Anteater Classic Saturday at the Bren Events Center.

After losing the first set 15-25, the Anteaters won the next two, 25-19 and 25-16 only to watch the Buffs win the final two 25-13 and 15-9.

UCI (3-2) was led by senior outside hitter Kendra Duffey with 14 kills followed by outside hitter Kendra MacDonald and opposite Lois Hansen with nine kills each. MacDonald fired a career-best four aces to go with seven digs and two block assists. Hansen was once again key at the net, recording four block assists.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Middle blocker Ally Bolden totaled seven kills and a match-best five block assists
>Freshman Lillian Lansing made an impact off the bench, putting away five kills and scooping six digs
>Setter Nicole Feliciano tallied 33 set assists, nine digs and three block assists
>Libero Campbell Jensen recorded 15 digs
>Colorado held the advantage in hitting (.273-.223), digs (54-46) and aces (12-5), while the Anteaters topped Colorado at the net, 11-10
>Colorado remains undefeated (6-0) on the strength of Ana Burilovic's match-high 20 kills

FIRST SET
>Colorado jumped out quickly with three consecutive kills
>Along with a CU attack error, Kendra Duffey put the Anteaters on the board with a kill, 4-2
>Back-to-back blocks by Kendra MacDonald and Elizabeth Miller closed the gap to 7-10
>The Buffs went on a 5-1 run which started and ended with a block to increase the lead to 19-12
>Colorado would take the set on a kill by Cayla Payne, 25-15
>Colorado hit .444(17-5-27) to UCI's .136 (8-5-22)

SECOND SET
>Six UCI errors and two Buff kills propelled Colorado to an 8-3 lead
>UCI would come alive on a 10-1 run which included a pair of aces by MacDonald and a pair of blocks by Lois Hansen and Sydnee Rowe, 14-10
>The Buffs would battle right back with four in a row, including two aces to knot the score at 14-14
>A kill by MacDonald out of the back row sparked a 4-0 spurt that was capped by a block by Nicole Feliciano and Ally Bolden, 21-17
>Kills by Duffey and MacDonald were followed by another block by Feliciano and Bolden for set point, 24-18
>A Colorado kill delayed the set-winner, a smash by Bolden, 25-19
>The Buffs hit .000 (7-7-19)

THIRD SET
>The teams remained close until a kill by Hansen, an ace by MacDonald and a Buff blocking error gave the Anteaters an 11-8 lead
>Duffey placed a kill in the back corner then had a solo stuff to help the Anteaters to a 14-9 advantage
>Following a Bolden kill on the right side, Keelan Williams stepped to the service line and kept the Buffs out of system, creating two attack errors, 19-12
>UCI closed out the set with the final five points, two kills by Hansen, two by Duffey and a block by Duffey and Rowe, 25-16

FOURTH SET
>Colorado started the set with an ace and gained control early with a 5-1 lead
>UCI chipped away and an ace by Madison Triplett closed the gap to 5-6
>Three consecutive kills, an ace and a UCI attack error gave the Buffs separation, 11-5
>Another 5-0 spurt with two kills and two aces helped Colorado to an 18-8 margin   
>Colorado would cruise to a 25-13 victory

FIFTH SET
>After UCI recorded the opening point, CU had the next three on a UCI attack error and two kills, 3-1
>Two more kills extended Colorado's lead to 5-2 and a 3-0 spurt made it 9-4
>Colorado's Ana Burilovic ended the match with a kill, 15-9

NOTES
>UCI is 1-1 on the season in five set matches
>Duffey has three solo blocks on the season
>Seven Anteaters recorded a block assist, including middle blocker Sydnee Rowe with three

UP NEXT
UCI ends the tournament hosting Penn tomorrow at noon at the Bren Events Center.