THIS WEEK
No. 11 UC Santa Barbara at No. 4 UC Irvine
Wednesday, Mar. 11 | 6:00 PM PT | Bren Events Center
Stats    Watch

No. 4 UC Irvine at 11 UC Santa Barbara 
Friday, Mar. 13 | 7:00 PM PT | Thunderdome
Stats    Watch   

FIRST SERVE
No. 4 UC Irvine begins the Big West schedule with a home and away series with No. 11 UC Santa Barbara. The Anteaters will host the Gauchos Wednesday (Mar. 11) at 6:00 p.m. followed by a trip to Santa Barbara Friday (Mar. 13) at 7:00 p.m. in the Thunderdome.

Wednesday's match is Court 21 night. The elite playing surface was named after Tim Vorenkamp, whose mission was to Live for Others, inspiration for elevating the performance and wellness of UCI student-athletes as well as the competitive edge to the UCI volleyball programs.

STORYLINES
UC Irvine is 12-2 overall, with both losses coming in five sets to Top 4 teams.

It will be 12 days since the Anteaters last hit the court. Last time out, UCI fell in five sets to No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 27. The Anteaters held a 2-1 lead but could not hold off the Bruins in the final two sets.

A season-high 4,133 fans watched the Anteaters and Bruins, the second largest in UCI history and third largest this season by a school other than Hawaii and BYU.

The Anteaters had a trio of players with double-digit kills, led by opposite William D'Arcy with 15. He had seven digs and a block assist, while freshman outside hitter Andrej Jokanovic recorded 14 kills, five digs and three block assists and junior middle blocker Trevor Clark hit .476 with 12 kills. He also had a team-high six total blocks with a career-high three solos.
 
Middle blocker Trevor Clark leads the nation in hitting percentage at .569 and is 11^th in blocks (1.14).

Nationally, UCI is ranked ninth in hitting percentage (.331) and kills (12.65), 10 in aces (1.67) and 13th in assists (11.74).

UCI was picked to finish third in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll, while UC Santa Barbara was in a tie for fourth.

GOING AGAINST THE GAUCHOS
UCSB is 9-6 overall and 1-0 in the Big West after starting league action with a 3-2 win at home against No. 11 UC San Diego last week.

UCSB has won three of the last four with the lone loss to UCLA (1-3).

In the first meeting last year, the Anteaters would take the first set 25-19 then drop the next two (17-25, 19-25) before rallying to capture the last two, 30-28 and 15-12. UCI would hit .516 in the fourth and .444 in the fifth, while the Gauchos were .343 and .285, respectively.William D'Arcy put down 21 kills, while Micah Goss added 10 kills, four block assists and three aces.

UCI has won the last six outings with the Gauchos last winning in 2022.

DOING IT WITH D'ARCY
William D'Arcy is having a sensational senior season averaging 3.12 kills per set. He has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last 10 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.

KILL BANDIT
Freshman Andrej Jokanovic leads the team and ranks sixth in kills (3.44) and in points (4.04), 10th in hitting percentage (.323), 11^th in aces (0.35) and 13^th in digs (1.32).  The outside hitter has recorded an ace in all but two matches.

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.

Jokanovic was named to the inaugural AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List, the lone freshman on the list.

AT THE NET
Trevor Clark leads the country in hitting percentage with a .569 mark and is 13th in blocks (1.14). He has  hit .500 or better eight times this season.

Micah Goss is averaging 10.0 kills, 2.25 aces and 3.25 blocks over the last four matches. Overall he is averaging 1.63 kills and 0.53 blocks per set. The sophomore is 13^th in aces (0.33). He put down a career-high 14 kills in the first meeting with USC.

DEFENSE
Libero Shane Aitken is second in the Big West in digs (1.96) followed by Andon Kiriakou in third at 1.72. 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.

TRITONS ON DECK
The Anteaters will take one last break for finals then return host UC San Diego Mar. 27 for a 6:00 p.m. match at the Bren Events Center.

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