UC Irvine's Win Streak Ends with 3-1 Loss to Sac State

Saturday, October 10

Irvine, Calif.

5:00 PM

UC Irvine

6-11,4-2Big West

Sacramento State

9-8,4-2Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Sacramento St.	26	22	25	25	3
UC Irvine	24	25	19	19	1

Box Score (PDF)

Abby Pekrul and Lois Hansen go up for a double block in an NCAA women's volleyball match against Sac State.

UC Irvine's Win Streak Ends with 3-1 Loss to Sac State

October 10, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's volleyball saw their season-long four-match win streak come to an end with a 24-26, 25-22, 19-25, 19-25 loss to Sacramento State Saturday evening at the Bren Events Center.

The Anteaters (6-11, 4-2 Big West) bounced back from a first-set heartbreaker to win the second as they went up by nine and then held off a late run by the Hornets. Sac State took control the rest of the way to finish off the 3-1 victory. Victoria Marthaler led the charge with 16 of her match-high 21 kills in the third and fourth frames.

Freshman middle Taylor Boice paced the 'Eaters with 10 kills on .368 hitting. Junior opposite Ava Gronemeyer added nine kills.

Junior libero Whitney Wallace anchored the defensive effort with a match-high 24 digs. Senior outside Madison Triplett and sophomore setter Angelina Dellutri also reached double digits with 10 digs each.

Senior setter Nicole Feliciano finished with 29 assists, seven kills, and seven digs. Sophomore middle Abby Pekrul and freshman outside Memphis Burnett chipped in six kills each. Pekrul, Feliciano, and Boice all tied for the team lead with four blocks apiece.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Sacramento State (9-8, 4-2 Big West) took a 7-3 lead in set one, but UC Irvine responded with an 8-1 run to pull ahead by three. The Anteaters stayed out front until the Hornets reclaimed a 15-14 edge. It proceeded to go back-and-forth with seven ties before the visitors closed it out at 26-24.

The seesaw battle continued early in the second set. The 'Eaters then made the first move with a 9-1 rally to go up, 16-7. Burnett had three kills during that stretch. Sac State rebounded with five-straight points, but kills from Burnett and Boice put UCI back on top by six (18-12). UC Irvine eventually took set point on a Gronemeyer kill and sealed the 25-22 win with a put away from Pekrul.

A Triplett ace sandwiched between two Gronemeyer kills gave the Anteaters a 3-0 lead in the third frame. The Hornets quickly tied it up at 4-4 and the two teams continued to trade points until Sacramento State went on a 9-2 run go up, 17-11. Brianna Brewer answered with a kill and Dellutri followed with back-to-back aces to make it a three-point game, but Sac State used a late surge for the 25-19 victory.

Senior opposite Lois Hansen came in to start the fourth set and made an immediate impact with a block and a kill. It remained a tightly-contested game with neither team leading by more than three until Sacramento State broke an 8-8 deadlock with five unanswered. The Hornets kept the momentum on their side taking match point at 24-15. UCI stayed alive with a 4-0 spurt that included a solo block from Boice, a Wallace ace, and a Brewer kill, but Sac State then closed it out at 25-19.

UP NEXT: UC Irvine will be on the road next week, traveling to Cal State Bakersfield (Oct. 16) and CSUN (Oct. 17).

NOTES
• UCI is now in a six-way tie for second in the Big West standings.
• The Anteaters' 72 digs were their most in a four-set match this season.
• The 'Eaters lead the Big West with 15.03 digs per set.
• Whitney Wallace had her seventh 20+ dig effort of the year.
• In six Big West matches played, Wallace is averaging a conference-best 5.26 digs per set.
• Taylor Boice had her team-leading ninth double-digit kill performance.
• The 6-foot-1 middle blocker is tops on the squad with 2.39 kills per set.
• Nicole Feliciano is two digs shy of 1,000 in her career.
• Lois Hansen made her third appearance of the season and first since Sept. 5.