LOS ANGELES, Calif. – No. 5 UC Irvine returned the favor, handing No. 4 USC its first loss of the season with a 3-1 victory (25-20, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23) at the Galen Center Friday evening.

The Trojans out-hit (.417-.344) and out-dug (44-28) UCI, but the Anteaters won the service line with seven aces to USC's 2. UCI also held a slight lead in blocking, 8.5-7.5.

Senior William D'Arcy led UC Irvine with a match-high 24.5 points on 21 kills, six digs, three block assists and two aces.

Freshman Andrej Jokanovic posted 15 kills, five digs and three block assists. He tied his career-high with three aces.

The Anteaters improve to 12-1 overall, while the Trojans go to 8-1 after splitting the season series.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Outside hitter Andon Kiriakou hit .467 (8-1-15) with two digs and an ace
>Middle blocker Micah Goss had eight kills, three total blocks (1 solo), and an ace
>Setter Cameron Kosty recorded 44 set assists, two kills, two block assists and two digs
>Middle blocker Lukas Winn had a career-high five block assists to go with two kills and two digs
>Libero Shane Aitken totaled 10 digs
>USC's Dillon Klein had a match-high 23 kills

FIRST SET
>UCI jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead, including a kill by Andrej Jokanovic and a block by Lukas Winn and William D'Arcy
>Four straight for the Trojans, three on Anteater errors helped USC tie the set at 6-6
>A long rally that ended in a setting error by USC followed by a Trojan attack error and a kill by Jokanovic moved UCI out to 11-8
>A huge block by Jokanovic and Lukas WInn extended the led to 13-10
>Tough serving by Jokanovic led to a 7-0 run which included kill by Andon Kiriakou off the block, a D'Arcy kill on an overpass and two ace by Jokanovic, 20-11
>The Trojans answered with seven of their own, two on aces, to close to 18-20
>A kill by D'Arcy and a Trojan swing that went wide stopped the momentum, 22-18
>A kill by Kiriakou and a block by Goss and Jokanovic ended the set 25-20

SECOND SET
>A pair of Jokanovic kills was followed by a block from Winn and Cameron Kosty, 3-1
>A 5-0 run with two blocks moved USC in front, 7-5
>A kill and block assist by D'Arcy knotted the score at 7s
>D'Arcy tapped it over then Winn did the same to tie the set at 14-14
>A kill by Kosty and an ace by Kiriakou gave UCI the 20-18 advantage
>A kill by Kiriakou and a Trojan attack into the net forced a USC timeout, 22-19
>D'Arcy banged it off a Trojan to give UCI set point, 24-22
>USC closed to 24-23 before a Trojan service error handed the Anteaters a 25-23 victory

THIRD SET
>Kosty dumped the ball on the opening point
>The teams played back-and-forth until the Trojans went on a 4-1 spurt, scoring all on kills to move in front 18-15
>UCI battled back on a USC service error and kill by Kiriakou, 18-19
>A pair of kills of Jokanovic tied it up 22-22
>USC would win the set 25-23 with the final two kills

FOURTH SET
>USC started with a 4-1 lead and continued to hold a 7-3 advantage
>A kill by Jokanovic and an ace from Goss edged the Anteaters to 11-12
>A Trojan service error was followed by a solo block by Goss to tie the set at 15 all
>UCI had kills by Kiriakou and Goss and an ace by D'Arcy to move in front 18-17
>The teams would match each other point for point until UCI had a kill by D'Arcy and another by Kiriakou high off hands to end the set, 25-23 and match 3-1

NOTES
>D'Arcy's 21 kills are one shy of his career-best and tied for fifth most in the Big West
>Aitken has four double-digit dig performances in 2026
>Jokanovic leads UCI with 20 aces
>UCI currently leads the country with 12 wins

UP NEXT
UCI will take a break and hit the court again on Feb. 27 when they host UCLA at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.