UCI Rolls Past Utah Valley in Straight Sets

Friday, October 9

Irvine, Calif.

6:00 PM

UC Irvine

6-10,4-1Big West

Utah Valley

4-13,2-3Big West

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Utah Valley	20	21	22	0
UC Irvine	25	25	25	3

Box Score (PDF)

Memphis Burnett raises both arms as she celebrates a point with her teammates in an NCAA women's volleyball match.

Photo by: Matt Brown

UCI Rolls Past Utah Valley in Straight Sets

October 09, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's volleyball won their fourth-straight match with a sweep of Utah Valley Friday night at the Bren Events Center. Set scores were 25-20, 25-21, 25-22.

The Anteaters (6-10, 4-1 Big West) came out firing, scoring the first five points of the match. That start set the tone as they did not trail in the opening set. UCI then fell behind by two early in the second, but quickly regained control and pulled away down the stretch. The 'Eaters carried the momentum into the third frame where they went up 6-1 following three-straight kills from freshman outside Memphis Burnett. They stayed out front the rest of the way to complete their second sweep of the year.

Burnett led UC Irvine with a season and match-high 12 kills. She hit an impressive .381 (12-4-21), while also finishing with eight digs and a solo block. Fifth-year outside Kendra MacDonald, who made her season debut last weekend, continued to make an impact with eight kills on .263 hitting. Junior opposite Ava Gronemeyer added six kills and four blocks.

Senior setter Nicole Feliciano recorded her 50th career double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs. Sophomore setter Angelina Dellutri also dished out a team-leading 20 assists. Junior libero and reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Week, Whitney Wallace, scooped up a match-best 18 digs.

As a team, the Anteaters hit .250 (45-18-108) and held the Wolverines to a .130 clip (31-17-108). UCI also out-dug UVU, 50-37.

Chloe Hansen paced Utah Valley (4-13, 2-3 Big West) with a team-high eight digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Gronemeyer put down a kill on the first play before Wallace served four-straight points, including an ace, to give UC Irvine a 5-0 lead in the opening set. The Anteaters continued to roll, going up, 11-2, on a double block by Feliciano and Taylor Boice. Utah Valley then went on a 10-2 run to close the gap to one. Gronemeyer and Burnett answered with back-to-back kills to start a 6-2 spurt that extended UCI's margin to 19-14. The 'Eaters maintained the advantage and eventually sealed the 25-20 victory on a Boice/Gronemeyer block.

The second set went back-and-forth with six ties before UC Irvine broke a 10-10 deadlock with three-straight kills from Burnett, Abby Pekrul, and Gronemeyer. The Wolverines pulled even one more time at 16-all, but the Anteaters responded with a 4-0 rally, capped by a Tata Vongfak ace, to go up, 20-16. That cushion was more than enough for the 'Eaters who closed out the 25-21 win on a Pekrul kill.

UCI started strong in the third frame, racing out to an 8-2 lead following consecutive kills from Feliciano and Boice. UVU was able to cut the deficit in half but the home team rebuilt a six-point advantage after a solo block from Burnett (14-8). Utah Valley made one more push as it came within two at 18-16, but the Anteaters held steady, taking the set and match at 25-22.

UP NEXT: UC Irvine is back at the Bren Events Center tomorrow for a 5 p.m. showdown with California Baptist (Saturday, Oct. 10).

NOTES
• Nicole Feliciano increased her career dig total to 991, putting her just nine away from 1,000.
• Memphis Burnett had her second 10+ kill match of the season and first since Sept. 11.
• Whitney Wallace extended her double-figure dig streak to 13-straight matches.
• Kendra MacDonald has 18 kills in seven sets played (2.57/set).
• The Anteaters improved to 2-0 in their short all-time series with Utah Valley.
• This was UCI's second-fastest match of the season (1:32), behind only a sweep of Southern Utah that took 1 hour, 21 minutes.