Long Beach, Calif. – No. 5 UC Irvine battled back to force a fifth set, but could not complete the comeback falling in five sets to No. 3 Long Beach State at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.

The Beach took the first two sets 25-17 and 25-21 before the Anteaters came alive to take the next two 26-24 and 25-21 then falling 15-9 in the final set. LBSU out-hit UCI .361-.207. UCI's .207 mark is second lowest of the season.  

With the loss, UCI is 17-6 overall and 5-4 in Big West matches, locking in the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men's Volleyball Championship at the Bren Events Center starting next Thursday (Apr. 23). Long Beach State goes to 21-4 overall and 7-2 in league play and will be slotted in as the second-seed.

Reigning AVCA National Player of the Week Andrej Jokanovic recorded his fourth double-double with a team-high 14 kills and match-best 11 digs. He also added two aces and a block assist.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Senior William D'Arcy recorded nine kills followed by freshman Andreas Brinck with a career-best eight kills. D'Arcy totaled five digs and four block assists.
>Setter Aidan Schulten came off the bench to log a career-high 28 set assists, seven digs and three kills
>Middle blocker Trevor Clark hit .600 with seven kills (7-1-10) to go with four total blocks (1 solo) and four digs
>Middle blocker Micah Goss posted seven kills, three block assists and a block assist
>Libero Shane Aitken popped up eight digs
>The Anteaters out-aced the nation's top serving team, 7-3
>UCI matched The Beach, who are second nationally in blocks at eight each
>Five different LBSU players recorded double-figure kills led by Skyler Varga's 17

FIRST SET
>A solo block and kill by William D'Arcy got UCI out to a quick 3-1 lead
>Two kills and an ace moved Long Beach State in front 6-4
>The Beach stretched the margin to 9-5 on a pair of kills and a block
>A Long Beach service error was followed by a kill from Andreas Brinck and an ace by Andrej Jokanovic, 12-12
>The next five went to The Beach on four UCI errors, 17-12
>Long Beach never looked back taking the set 25-17
>UCI hit -.034 (6-7-29) while The Beach hit .367 (14-3-30) and handed the Anteaters seven points on service errors

SECOND SET
>Three in a row by Long Beach State put The Beach in front 6-3
>A kill and ace by Brinck inched the Anteaters within 7-8
>Three consecutive kills and a block put LBSU in front 17-11
>UCI rallied on three Brinck kills, 14-17
>A two-handed dump by Aidan Schulten and Jokanovic tip kept UCI in the set 17-19
>UCI could not get closer than two the rest of the way with LBSU winning 25-21
>The Beach did not commit an attack error in the set, hitting .481 (13-0-27)

THIRD SET
>Schulten dished it back to Jokanovic flying out of the backrow, 5-3
>A 4-1 run by UCI which included a kill and ace by Clark gave the Anteaters an 11-8 advantage
>D'Arcy banged a ball to the floor to put UCI up 15-12
>A kill by Brinck made it 17-14 then Micah Goss had two kills in the middle, the last to give the Anteaters a 21-19 lead
>Another kill by Brinck was followed by a triple block by D'Arcy, Brinck and Clark to move the Anteaters to set point, 24-20
>LBSU wouldn't go away, scoring the next four and send the set in to overtime, 24-24
>The set would end on a Long Beach service error and kill by D'Arcy, 26-24

FOURTH SET
>UCI started with a 3-1 lead on a kill by Jokanovic plus two Beach errors
>LBSU would catch UCI at 5 then move ahead 6-5 on a UCI attack error
>The Beach would score three unanswered a hold a 14-12 lead before UCI used a a block by D'Arcy and Clark to knot the score at 14-14
>Clark put UCI in front 18-17 on a kill and ace
>UCI lead 21-19 on a kill and block assist by Goss
>A LBSU service error was followed by a kill by Andon Kiriakou and an ace by Goss, 24-20
>After a Long Beach kill, Clark ended the set with a kill, 25-21

FIFTH SET
>A kill and ace by Skyler Varga gave LBSU the 4-2 lead
>A kill by Clark and an ace by Jokanovic tie the score at 4 all
>Back-to-back kills by Wojciech Gajek gave The Beach a 7-5 lead
>LBSU strung three in a row together to stretch the gap to 13-7
>A pair of Jokanovic kills narrowed the lead to 9-13
>Varga would record two kills to end the match 15-9
 
NOTES
>It is only UCI's second road loss of the season
>UCI goes to 4-5 in five set matches, losing all five to teams ranked in the top 8
>D'Arcy snapped his consecutive double-digit kill streak
>UCI holds the tiebreaker with UC Santa Barbara if the two teams end the season tied in the standings

UP NEXT
The teams will close out the regular season at the Bren Events Center at 6:00 p.m. UCI will honor graduating seniors William D'Arcy, Aidan Schulten and Beck Weber