Friday, October 16
Bakersfield, Calif.
6:00 PM
UC Irvine
at
Cal State Bakersfield
'Eaters on the Road at Bakersfield, CSUN This Week
October 14, 2026 | Women's Volleyball
UC Irvine (6-11, 4-2 Big West) at
Cal State Bakersfield (8-10, 3-3 Big West)
Date:Â Friday, Oct. 16
Time:Â 6 p.m. (PDT)
Location:Â Icardo Center (3,497) - Bakersfield, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
UC Irvine (6-11, 4-2 Big West) at
CSUN (8-8, 4-2 Big West)
Date:Â Saturday, Oct. 17
Time:Â 4 p.m. (PDT)
Location:Â Premier America Credit Union Arena (2,300) - Northridge, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
IRVINE, Calif. -Â UC Irvine women's volleyball is on the road this week, starting with a trip to Cal State Bakersfield for a 6 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 16. The Anteaters then make their way to CSUN on Saturday, Oct. 17 to take on the Matadors in a 4 p.m. showdown.
FIRST SERVE
• UCI is coming off a home split last weekend. The 'Eaters swept Utah Valley on Friday, Oct. 9, before seeing their season-long four-match win streak snapped the next day with a 3-1 loss to Sacramento State. Freshman Memphis Burnett had a season-best 12 kills on .381 hitting in the victory over the Wolverines, while freshman Taylor Boice put away a team-high 10 kills against the Hornets. UC Irvine enters the week in a six-way tie for second with a 4-2 Big West record.
• Junior libero Whitney Wallace leads the Big West with 282 digs (4.34/set). She has been even better in conference matches where she is averaging 5.26 digs per set. Her 121 digs in league play are 33 more than the next highest individual dig total. Wallace has recorded 10+ digs in 14 consecutive matches and has seven 20+ dig performances. She is a two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 21, Oct. 5).
• UC Irvine has a young team with nearly half of the roster comprised of true (5) and redshirt (3) freshmen. Six of the eight have started at least five matches. First-year middle Taylor Boice leads the freshman crew as she has started every match and is tops on the squad in kills (2.39/set), blocks (0.95/set), and hitting percentage (.297).Â
• Four-year starter and tri-captain Nicole Feliciano has 2,915 career assists and 998 career digs. The 5-foot-10 setter is two digs away from joining her head coach Ashlie Hain as the only two Anteaters in program history to record over 2,000 assists and 1,000 digs. Hain, who played from 2001-04, is the school record holder with 5,698 career assists and ranks eighth among UCI's all-time leaders with 1,175 career digs. Feliciano enters the weekend at No. 5 on the assists chart where she is 71 back of Teri Zartman.
• UCI ranks first in the 12-member Big West with 15.03 digs per set. The 'Eaters are also third in opponent hitting percentage, holding their adversaries to a .179 clip.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Cal State Bakersfield (8-10, 3-3 Big West) is on a two-match win streak after defeating California Baptist, 3-0, and UC Riverside, 3-2, on the road last weekend. Junior outside hitter Suelen Lima leads the Roadrunners with 3.32 kills and 2.07 digs per set. Junior libero Analiese Gagliano is also averaging a team-best 2.80 digs per set.
CSUN (8-8, 4-2 Big West) is riding a four-match win streak and has dropped only one set during that stretch which includes a sweep over Long Beach State. Senior outside Hailey Brockway has powered the CSUN offense with 4.02 kills per set. Defensively, senior middle Iye Okolo is averaging a Big West-leading 1.50 blocks per set, while senior libero Paige Sentes owns a team-best 4.08 digs/set. As a team, the Matadors are tops in the conference in blocks (2.83/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.153).
SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield, 10-4. Last year, the Roadrunners took a 3-1 victory at the Bren Events Center (Oct. 10, 2025), but the Anteaters avenged that loss with a four-set road win on Nov. 15, 2025.
UCI leads in its all-time series with CSUN, 37-32. The 'Eaters won their ninth in a row against the Matadors on Oct. 11, 2025. CSUN then snapped that streak in the next meeting with a five-set victory at home (Nov. 13, 2025). It was UC Irvine's first loss in the series since 2019.
DIGS LEADER
Whitney Wallace leads the Big West with 4.34 digs per set and has been even better in conference play where she is averaging a league-best 5.26 digs/set. She has reached double digits in 14 consecutive matches with seven of those being 20+ dig efforts. During that stretch, the 5-foot-9 libero recorded a career-high 30 digs vs. San José State (Sept. 13). Wallace, a junior transfer from Oklahoma, is a two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week, earning the recognition on Sept. 21 and again on Oct. 5.
JUST GETTING STARTED
Freshman Taylor Boice earned her first career Big West Rookie of the Week honor on Oct. 5. She was recognized after helping the 'Eaters to a pair of wins in Riverside as she put down a match-high 12 kills at UCR before tallying seven kills and three blocks at CBU. The 6-foot-1 middle has nine 10+ kill matches on the year, including a season-high 18 vs. New Mexico State. She has started every match and is tops on the squad in kills (2.39/set), blocks (0.95/set), and hitting percentage (.297).
STEADY AS THEY COME
Senior Nicole Feliciano is a fourth-year starter who has played in 104 of 108 matches during her time at UC Irvine. The 5-foot-10 setter ranks fifth in program history with 2,915 career assists, sitting 71 behind Teri Zartman in fourth. Feliciano is also the Anteaters' active leader with 998 career digs and 50 double-doubles. Last weekend, she had 17 assists and 10 digs in a sweep of Utah Valley before dishing out a season-high tying 29 assists vs. Sac State. Earlier this year, she had her first kill-assist double-doubles with 11 kills/22 assists against Southeastern Louisiana and 11 kills/19 assists at California Baptist. Feliciano was the 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year.
HANG TEN
Freshman Vani Tatoulian and sophomore Abby Pekrul have both recorded 10 blocks in a match this season. Tatoulian was the first 'Eater to reach double digits since Ofure Iselen on Oct. 5, 2024, when she had 10 total blocks (9 block assists, 1 solo) against San José State on Sept. 13. Two weeks later, Pekrul racked up a career-high 10 block assists in a 3-1 win over Cal State Fullerton.
TRIP'S TURN
Junior Madison Triplett, who is one of two Anteaters to start every match this season, is averaging 2.12 kills and 1.67 digs per set. From Sept. 13-26, Triplett had four of her five 10+ kill matches. The stretch started with a season-best 17 vs. San José State.
IMPACT FRESHMEN
Redshirt freshman Brianna Brewer, who missed last season with an injury, and true freshman Memphis Burnett have combined for several impressive performances on the left side. In her first career match, Brewer put down 11 kills vs. New Mexico State before finishing with a team and season-high 13 at Fresno State. Burnett added a season-best 12 kills on .381 hitting vs. Utah Valley, and notched a season-high 11 digs and six blocks vs. Cal State Fullerton.
COMEBACK SEASON
Last season, UCI lost starters Kendra MacDonald (OH) and Jessica Bates (S/OPP) to season-ending injuries early in the campaign. MacDonald came back two weeks ago, making her 2026 season debut at UC Riverside (Oct. 2), while Bates has started 10 of 12 matches played this year. Bates, a 5-foot-11 setter/right side, tallied a career-high 24 assists and 21 digs to go along with nine kills vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 18.Â
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
UC Irvine and CSUN were picked to tie for sixth in the 2026 Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Anteaters' placing mirrored where they have finished in the regular-season standings in each of the last three years. Defending Big West champion and NCAA Regional finalist Cal Poly received 11 first-place votes and 121 points to sit atop the 12-team poll.Â
UP NEXT
UCI is set to face UC San Diego twice next week, heading to La Jolla on Friday, Oct. 23, before hosting the Tritons at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Cal State Bakersfield (8-10, 3-3 Big West)
Date:Â Friday, Oct. 16
Time:Â 6 p.m. (PDT)
Location:Â Icardo Center (3,497) - Bakersfield, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
UC Irvine (6-11, 4-2 Big West) at
CSUN (8-8, 4-2 Big West)
Date:Â Saturday, Oct. 17
Time:Â 4 p.m. (PDT)
Location:Â Premier America Credit Union Arena (2,300) - Northridge, Calif.
Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
IRVINE, Calif. -Â UC Irvine women's volleyball is on the road this week, starting with a trip to Cal State Bakersfield for a 6 p.m. match on Friday, Oct. 16. The Anteaters then make their way to CSUN on Saturday, Oct. 17 to take on the Matadors in a 4 p.m. showdown.
FIRST SERVE
• UCI is coming off a home split last weekend. The 'Eaters swept Utah Valley on Friday, Oct. 9, before seeing their season-long four-match win streak snapped the next day with a 3-1 loss to Sacramento State. Freshman Memphis Burnett had a season-best 12 kills on .381 hitting in the victory over the Wolverines, while freshman Taylor Boice put away a team-high 10 kills against the Hornets. UC Irvine enters the week in a six-way tie for second with a 4-2 Big West record.
• Junior libero Whitney Wallace leads the Big West with 282 digs (4.34/set). She has been even better in conference matches where she is averaging 5.26 digs per set. Her 121 digs in league play are 33 more than the next highest individual dig total. Wallace has recorded 10+ digs in 14 consecutive matches and has seven 20+ dig performances. She is a two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 21, Oct. 5).
• UC Irvine has a young team with nearly half of the roster comprised of true (5) and redshirt (3) freshmen. Six of the eight have started at least five matches. First-year middle Taylor Boice leads the freshman crew as she has started every match and is tops on the squad in kills (2.39/set), blocks (0.95/set), and hitting percentage (.297).Â
• Four-year starter and tri-captain Nicole Feliciano has 2,915 career assists and 998 career digs. The 5-foot-10 setter is two digs away from joining her head coach Ashlie Hain as the only two Anteaters in program history to record over 2,000 assists and 1,000 digs. Hain, who played from 2001-04, is the school record holder with 5,698 career assists and ranks eighth among UCI's all-time leaders with 1,175 career digs. Feliciano enters the weekend at No. 5 on the assists chart where she is 71 back of Teri Zartman.
• UCI ranks first in the 12-member Big West with 15.03 digs per set. The 'Eaters are also third in opponent hitting percentage, holding their adversaries to a .179 clip.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Cal State Bakersfield (8-10, 3-3 Big West) is on a two-match win streak after defeating California Baptist, 3-0, and UC Riverside, 3-2, on the road last weekend. Junior outside hitter Suelen Lima leads the Roadrunners with 3.32 kills and 2.07 digs per set. Junior libero Analiese Gagliano is also averaging a team-best 2.80 digs per set.
CSUN (8-8, 4-2 Big West) is riding a four-match win streak and has dropped only one set during that stretch which includes a sweep over Long Beach State. Senior outside Hailey Brockway has powered the CSUN offense with 4.02 kills per set. Defensively, senior middle Iye Okolo is averaging a Big West-leading 1.50 blocks per set, while senior libero Paige Sentes owns a team-best 4.08 digs/set. As a team, the Matadors are tops in the conference in blocks (2.83/set) and opponent hitting percentage (.153).
SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield, 10-4. Last year, the Roadrunners took a 3-1 victory at the Bren Events Center (Oct. 10, 2025), but the Anteaters avenged that loss with a four-set road win on Nov. 15, 2025.
UCI leads in its all-time series with CSUN, 37-32. The 'Eaters won their ninth in a row against the Matadors on Oct. 11, 2025. CSUN then snapped that streak in the next meeting with a five-set victory at home (Nov. 13, 2025). It was UC Irvine's first loss in the series since 2019.
DIGS LEADER
Whitney Wallace leads the Big West with 4.34 digs per set and has been even better in conference play where she is averaging a league-best 5.26 digs/set. She has reached double digits in 14 consecutive matches with seven of those being 20+ dig efforts. During that stretch, the 5-foot-9 libero recorded a career-high 30 digs vs. San José State (Sept. 13). Wallace, a junior transfer from Oklahoma, is a two-time Big West Defensive Player of the Week, earning the recognition on Sept. 21 and again on Oct. 5.
JUST GETTING STARTED
Freshman Taylor Boice earned her first career Big West Rookie of the Week honor on Oct. 5. She was recognized after helping the 'Eaters to a pair of wins in Riverside as she put down a match-high 12 kills at UCR before tallying seven kills and three blocks at CBU. The 6-foot-1 middle has nine 10+ kill matches on the year, including a season-high 18 vs. New Mexico State. She has started every match and is tops on the squad in kills (2.39/set), blocks (0.95/set), and hitting percentage (.297).
STEADY AS THEY COME
Senior Nicole Feliciano is a fourth-year starter who has played in 104 of 108 matches during her time at UC Irvine. The 5-foot-10 setter ranks fifth in program history with 2,915 career assists, sitting 71 behind Teri Zartman in fourth. Feliciano is also the Anteaters' active leader with 998 career digs and 50 double-doubles. Last weekend, she had 17 assists and 10 digs in a sweep of Utah Valley before dishing out a season-high tying 29 assists vs. Sac State. Earlier this year, she had her first kill-assist double-doubles with 11 kills/22 assists against Southeastern Louisiana and 11 kills/19 assists at California Baptist. Feliciano was the 2023 Big West Freshman of the Year.
HANG TEN
Freshman Vani Tatoulian and sophomore Abby Pekrul have both recorded 10 blocks in a match this season. Tatoulian was the first 'Eater to reach double digits since Ofure Iselen on Oct. 5, 2024, when she had 10 total blocks (9 block assists, 1 solo) against San José State on Sept. 13. Two weeks later, Pekrul racked up a career-high 10 block assists in a 3-1 win over Cal State Fullerton.
TRIP'S TURN
Junior Madison Triplett, who is one of two Anteaters to start every match this season, is averaging 2.12 kills and 1.67 digs per set. From Sept. 13-26, Triplett had four of her five 10+ kill matches. The stretch started with a season-best 17 vs. San José State.
IMPACT FRESHMEN
Redshirt freshman Brianna Brewer, who missed last season with an injury, and true freshman Memphis Burnett have combined for several impressive performances on the left side. In her first career match, Brewer put down 11 kills vs. New Mexico State before finishing with a team and season-high 13 at Fresno State. Burnett added a season-best 12 kills on .381 hitting vs. Utah Valley, and notched a season-high 11 digs and six blocks vs. Cal State Fullerton.
COMEBACK SEASON
Last season, UCI lost starters Kendra MacDonald (OH) and Jessica Bates (S/OPP) to season-ending injuries early in the campaign. MacDonald came back two weeks ago, making her 2026 season debut at UC Riverside (Oct. 2), while Bates has started 10 of 12 matches played this year. Bates, a 5-foot-11 setter/right side, tallied a career-high 24 assists and 21 digs to go along with nine kills vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Sept. 18.Â
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
UC Irvine and CSUN were picked to tie for sixth in the 2026 Big West Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Anteaters' placing mirrored where they have finished in the regular-season standings in each of the last three years. Defending Big West champion and NCAA Regional finalist Cal Poly received 11 first-place votes and 121 points to sit atop the 12-team poll.Â
UP NEXT
UCI is set to face UC San Diego twice next week, heading to La Jolla on Friday, Oct. 23, before hosting the Tritons at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Players Mentioned
S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
S/OPP
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
MB
/ Women's Volleyball
OH
/ Women's Volleyball
L/DS
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