THIS WEEK
No. 13 UC San Diego at No. 5 UC Irvine
Friday, Mar. 27 | 6:00 PM PT | Bren Events Center
Stats    Watch  

No. 5 UC Irvine at 13 UC San Diego 
Saturday, Mar. 28 | 7:00 PM PT | LionTree Arena
Stats  Watch  

FIRST SERVE
No. 5 UC Irvine will face No. 13 UC San Diego in a home and away series beginning in Irvine Friday (Mar. 27) with a 6:00 p.m. match at the Bren Events Center. The teams will travel to the Lion Tree Arena Saturday. First serve is 7:00 p.m.

STORYLINES
UC Irvine is 13-3 overall and 1-1 in the Big West.

The Anteaters return to action after 14 days off, taking final exams last week.

Last time out, UCI split a pair of matches with then-No. 11 UC Santa Barbara. The Anteaters beat the Gauchos 3-1 at the Bren Center before falling in five at the Thunderdome, the first loss on the road in 2026.

UC San Diego is 11-7 overall and 2-1 in the Big West. Like the Anteaters, the fellow UC school was off last week for finals.

After opening Big West play with a sweep of CSUN, UCSD has gone five sets in each of the last three matches, the last a five-set win over CSUN in Northridge. In between, they lost to UC Santa Barbara and Princeton in five.

The Anteaters and Tritons each won on their home courts last year.

UCSD is seventh nationally and second in the Big West in aces, firing 1.72 per set. They are led by Sebastiano Sani, younger brother of former Anteater All-American Francesco Sani, with a .394 average.

Middle blocker Trevor Clark leads the nation in hitting percentage at .543 and is eighth in blocks (1.08).

Nationally, UCI is ranked ninth in kills (12.56), 11 in aces (1.67) and 13th in assists (11.70) 14th in hitting percentage (.319).

JOKANOVIC HONORS
Outside hitter Andrej Jokanovic was named Big West Freshman of the Week on Mar. 16, his fifth honor, tying Hilir Henno (2022) for most in a season by an Anteater.

He earned the award after averaging 4.11 kills, 4.56 points and 1.33 digs per set with three aces and a pair of blocks in the series against UC Santa Barbara. In the win at the Bren Center, the outside hitter pounded a match-high 20 kills for the Anteaters then had a team-best 17 kills with eight digs and a pair of aces and two blocks on the road.  

The freshman ranks third in The Big West and 26th nationally in kills per set with a 3.53 average.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP
Senior William D'Arcy is averaging 3.12 kills, which is seventh best in the Big West.

He has recorded kills in double-figures in each of the last 12 matches, including a career-high 22 at BYU.

The opposite is 17th in the Big West in aces with a 0.27 mark.

IN THE MIDDLE
Trevor Clark leads the country in hitting percentage with a .543 mark and is eighth in blocks (1.08). He has  hit .500 or better eight times this season.

Micah Goss is averaging 1.66 kills and 0.59 blocks per set. The sophomore is 16^th in the Big West in aces (0.28). He put down a career-high 14 kills in the first meeting with USC and tied his season-high in block assists with five the last time out.

OFF THE FINGERTIPS
Cameron Kosty averaged 10.11 set assists, 1.78 digs, 0.56 aces in the series versus UC Santa Barbara last week.

The redshirt freshman totaled 48 set assists the last time out, one shy of his career best. Kosty is sixth in the Big West with a 7.95 set assists average.

The setter has 13 aces on the year, including seven over the last three matches.

SCOOP
Shane Aitken and Andon Kiriakou lead the Anteaters from the backline. Aitken leads the Big West in digs per set with a 2.15 mark. He recorded a career-high 15 digs in the first meeting versus UC Santa Barbara.

Kiriakou is third in the Big West with a 1.69 dig average. The outside hitter is averaging 1.35 kills, recording a season-high 10 kills versus Stanford.

HAWAII ON DECK
The Anteaters will host No. 2 Hawaii for a pair of matches at the Bren Events Center Apr. 3&4.