Feliciano's Triple-Double Fuels Reverse Sweep at UCSD

Friday, October 23

La Jolla, Calif.

6:00 PM

UC Irvine

9-11,7-2Big West

UC San Diego

9-11,5-4Big West

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Final F
UC Irvine	23	23	25	25	15	3
UC San Diego	25	25	22	18	12	2

Box Score (PDF)

Nicole Feliciano celebrates a point with her teammates in an NCAA women's volleyball match.

October 23, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

LA JOLLA, Calif. - UC Irvine women's volleyball defeated UC San Diego, 3-2, in a reverse sweep Friday evening at LionTree Arena. Set scores were 23-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-12.

The Anteaters (9-11, 7-2 Big West) were led by senior setter Nicole Feliciano, who recorded her first career triple-double. Feliciano finished with a career-high 14 kills on .407 hitting, a season-best 17 digs, and 22 assists. She also had three blocks and an ace.

Freshman middle Taylor Boice, who is the reigning Big West Rookie of the Week, continued her dominance at the net with 12 kills (.385) and eight blocks. Senior Lois Hansen added eight kills and four blocks, while redshirt freshman Jessica Bates put down seven kills. Sophomore middle Abby Pekrul chipped in six kills and five blocks.

Junior libero Whitney Wallace led all players with 22 digs and a career-high tying four aces. Junior Madison Triplett also had nine digs and five kills. Sophomore setter Angelina Dellutri matched Feliciano with 22 assists.

The 'Eaters won the battle in kills (60-57) and digs (73-62). Both teams put up double digits in total team blocks with the Tritons holding a slight 14-to-13 edge.

Molly McCluskey paced UCSD with 18 kills and 14 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED: UC San Diego (9-11, 5-4 Big West) pulled ahead 15-10 at the first-set media timeout. UC Irvine took advantage of the break in action as it came right back with five unanswered points. The Anteaters extended that into a 7-1 run for a 17-16 lead. It proceeded to go back-and-forth with seven ties. The Tritons then broke a 23-23 deadlock with a kill and a block for the two-point win.

UCSD kept the momentum in set two where it did not trail. The home team went up 15-8 before the 'Eaters used a 6-0 rally, sparked by three blocks from Boice, to cut the deficit to one. UC San Diego stayed out front until a kill from Pekrul and an ace by Wallace tied it up at 21-21. The Tritons then scored four of the next six points for another 25-23 victory.

It was a tightly-contested battle in the third with seven ties and neither team leading by more than four. UCI held the edge for most of the set as UCSD took its only advantage at 2-1. The Anteaters created some separation midway through the frame when a Kaia Ciszewski ace gave them a 15-11 cushion. UC San Diego pulled back even one more time at 16-16 before a Feliciano kill started a 5-1 spurt that put UC Irvine on top, 21-17. The 'Eaters sided out until 24-20 when the Tritons staved off a couple set points. After a timeout, Triplett's kill ended it at 25-22.

UCI took control in the fourth set, going up 9-5 on a Boice kill. UCSD cut the deficit to one on three occasions, including at 16-15, but UC Irvine closed on a 9-3 run for the 25-18 victory. Feliciano had two kills, one block, and one ace to fuel the final stretch.

The Anteaters made the first move in set five, using a 5-2 rally that ended with a Triplett kill, to go up, 9-6. The Tritons came right back with four unanswered points, but the 'Eaters quickly reclaimed the lead following back-to-back kills from Ava Gronemeyer. UCI kept the momentum with a UC San Diego hitting error and another kill from Boice (13-10). The two teams then traded points before Feliciano's career-high 14th kill gave UC Irvine the set and match at 15-12.

UP NEXT: UCI and UCSD will square off again tomorrow (Saturday, Oct. 24) at the Bren Events Center. First serve is set for 5 p.m.

NOTES
• UC Irvine remained in a tie for second with Long Beach State in the Big West standings.
• Nicole Feliciano had the Anteaters' first triple-double of the season.
• Teammate Jessica Bates had two triple-doubles last year with her most recent one coming on Sept. 20, 2025.
• Whitney Wallace had her eighth 20+ dig effort.
• She has reached double digits in digs in 17 consecutive outings.
• Taylor Boice had her team-leading 11th double-digit kill match.
• Eight different Anteaters had 13 or more attack attempts.
• The 'Eaters have won three in a row and seven of their last eight.
• This was UCI's second reverse sweep of the season with both coming on the road in Big West play.