THIS WEEK
No. 1 UCLA at No. 4 UC Irvine 
Friday, Feb. 26 | 7:00 PM PT | Bren Events Center
Stats   

FIRST SERVE
No. 4 UC Irvine entertains No. 1 UCLA Friday (Feb. 26) at the Bren Events Center. The match begins at 7:00 p.m., note time is an hour later than most UCI matches.

STORYLINES
UC Irvine is 12-1 overall, tied with UCLA entering the week for most wins in the country.

The Bruins enter the week the lone undefeated team at 12-0. UCLA will face UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday before heading to the Bren Center.

The Anteaters last played on Feb. 13, beating USC 3-1 at the Galen Center. William D'Arcy led UCI with 21 kills, six digs, three block assists and two aces. D'Arcy's 21 kills were tied for fifth most by a Big West player this season.

Earlier that week, UCI suffered its first loss, a 3-2 defeat to the Trojans at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters had a season-high 62 kills, which are second most by a Big West team in 2026. 

The match also features three of the 15 players named to the inaugural AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List – UCI's Andrej Jokanovic and UCLA's Zach Rama and Andrew Rowan.  Jokanovic is the lone freshman on the list.

Middle blocker Trevor Clark leads the nation in hitting percentage at .583 and is 15^th in blocks (1.13).

Senior William D'Arcy is having a sensational senior season, averaging 3.13 kills which is 10^th best in the Big West. The opposite is also ninth in hitting percentage (.334) and points (3.79) and 16^th in aces (0.31).

BATTLING THE BRUINS
UCLA has won the 11 last meetings against the Anteaters.

Last season, the Bruins won 3-0 at the Bren and 3-2 at Pauley.

The last time out at UCLA, Micah Goss had a match-high seven total blocks (1 solo) to go with six kills and an ace, while Shane Aitken had a match-high eight digs. UCLA's  Cameron Thorne 17 kills, hitting .842. He had six total blocks and three aces  

UCI's last win, a 3-2 victory, came on Feb. 24, 2017 at home.

The Bruins are ranked first in kills (14.03), assists (13.31) and hitting percentage (.437) and sixth in aces (1.81).

KILL BANDIT
Freshman Andrej Jokanovic leads the team and ranks fifth in kills (3.50), sixth in points (4.13), eighth in hitting percentage (.335), 10^th in aces (0.38) and 14^th in digs (1.35).  The outside hitter has recorded an ace in every match but one.

He posted a career-high 23 kills in the win over Concordia, the third most by a Big West player and ninth nationally in a four-set match this season.

IN THE MIDDLE
Trevor Clark leads the Big West in hitting percentage with a .583 mark. He is also second in blocks (1.13). The last time on the court, he hit .833 with 10 kills on 12 swings at Vanguard.

 Micah Goss is averaging 1.61 kills and 0.50 blocks per set. The sophomore is 15^th in aces (0.32). He put down a career-high 14 kills in the first meeting with USC.

With Clark sidelined, Lukas Winn stepped in the last 13 sets, adding a career-high six kills in the first meeting with the Trojans and a career-best five blocks in the second. He is averaging 0.86 kills and 0.86 blocks per set overall.

KOSTY IN CONTROL
Redshirt freshman Cameron Kosty is sixth in the Big West in set assists with a 7.40 average.

 He had a career-high 49 set assists in the second meeting versus BYU which is fourth most by a Big West player in 2026.

SCOOP
Libero Shane Aitken is second in the Big West in digs (2.05), while Andon Kiriakou is sixth at 1.63. Aitken has recorded digs in double-digits four times this season. Kiriakou had his first career double-double with a career-best 14 digs versus Stanford.

MR. D'ARCY
William D'Arcy has recorded 11 or more kills in each of the last nine matches, logging two or more block assists in the last eight matches.

The 2025 honorable mention All-American put down a career-high 22 kills versus BYU, the fourth most by a Big West player this season.

BIG WEST ON DECK
Following the match with the Bruins, UCI will be back in action on Mar. 11 at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters will start league play hosting UC Santa Barbara.

The Bren Events Center will host The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship April 23-25, 2026.