'Eaters Stay Hot with 3-1 Win at UC Riverside

Friday, October 2

Riverside, Calif.

6:00 PM

UC Irvine

4-10,2-1Big West

UC Riverside

4-10,0-3Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Irvine	23	25	25	25	3
UC Riverside	25	19	19	14	1

Box Score (PDF)

Taylor Boice makes contact with the ball above the net on a kill attempt in an NCAA women's volleyball match.

Photo by: Jacob Thompson

'Eaters Stay Hot with 3-1 Win at UC Riverside

October 02, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's volleyball won their second-straight Big West match with a 23-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-14 victory over UC Riverside Friday evening at SRC Arena.

After dropping the first set, the Anteaters (4-10, 2-1 Big West) were in control the rest of the way. They had a balanced offensive attack with five players recording seven or more kills. Freshman middle Taylor Boice led the way with a match-high 12 kills to go along with four blocks. Senior setter/opposite Nicole Feliciano was just shy of a triple-double, finishing with a career-high tying 11 kills, 19 assists, and nine digs. Junior opposite Ava Gronemeyer added a career-best 10 kills.

Sophomore middle Abby Pekrul also tied her career high with eight kills. She did not commit an error on 15 swings for a .533 percentage. Freshman outside Memphis Burnett contributed seven kills.

Junior libero Whitney Wallace scooped up a match-high 17 digs, and sophomore setter Angelina Dellutri dished out a match-leading 21 assists.

As a team, the 'Eaters recorded their best hitting percentage in four sets at .333 (60-17-129), while holding the Highlanders to a .124 clip (37-22-121). Andrea Brewer paced UCR with 10 kills.

HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine took an early 7-5 lead on a Kendra MacDonald kill. UC Riverside (4-10, 0-3 Big West) then reeled off five-straight points before the Anteaters responded with three of their own to knot it up at 10-all. Five more ties would follow, but it was the Highlanders who made the late push for the 25-23 set one victory.

The 'Eaters raced out to a 5-0 advantage in the second set. UCR chipped away, closing the gap to one, but UCI punched back with four unanswered points and extended that into a 7-3 run to go up, 20-15. UC Riverside once again cut into UC Irvine's lead, pulling within two before the visitors finished strong for the 25-19 win.

The Anteaters kept the momentum in the third frame, going on top 8-2 following kills from Feliciano and Madison Triplett. The 'Eaters increased their margin to 13 (19-6) before the Highlanders got back into it with a 9-0 rally. Back-to-back kills from Boice made it 21-15, but UCR continued to fight, coming within three. That was the closest they would get as UCI ended the set on a 4-1 run with a double block from Pekrul and Brianna Brewer sealing the 25-19 victory.

It was a seesaw battle to start the fourth frame with six ties and neither team leading by more than two until a pair of Dellutri aces bookended a 7-0 push that gave UC Irvine a commanding 17-9 lead. The Anteaters continued to roll, taking the set and match at 25-14.

UP NEXT: UC Irvine is back in Riverside on Saturday, Oct. 3, to take on California Baptist in a 6 p.m. Big West showdown.

NOTES
• Ava Gronemeyer had her first career double-digit kill effort in her first career start.
• Abby Pekrul had her third match without a hitting error this season.
• Whitney Wallace extended her double-digit dig streak to 11 matches.
• Wallace leads the Big West with 5.00 digs per set in conference matches.
• Fifth-year Kendra MacDonald made her season debut, playing in the first and second sets.
• MacDonald is working her way back from last year's season-ending injury.
• UCI won its fourth-straight match against the Highlanders and improved to 46-16 in the all-time series.