UC Irvine Advances To National Championship Match With Win Over Ball State
May 09, 2026 | Men's Volleyball
IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine advanced to the NCAA Championship match with a 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19) victory over fourth-seed Ball State in a national semifinal Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.
The Anteaters (21-8) advance to the title match for the fifth time in program history and will play Hawaii Monday (May 11) at 4:00 p.m. The match will be televised on ESPN2.
Four UC Irvine players had double-digit kills led by AVCA National Newcomer of the Year Andrej Jokanovic with 18. The freshman hit .308 and added six digs and three total blocks.
Middle block Trevor Clark, the nation's leader in hitting percentage did not disappoint with a .722 mark tying his career-high 14 kills. He led the team with six total blocks (1 solo).
Freshman Andreas Brinck recorded 13 kills, a career-tying seven blocks and three block assists, while senior William D'Arcy had 12 kills and a season-high 10 digs plus a block assist.
Setter Cameron Kosty orchestrated the Anteater attack to a .362 mark (64-18-127) with 53 set assists, one shy of his career-high and nine digs. The redshirt freshman had two kills, an ace and two blocks (1 solo).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Libero Shane Aitken shared the team lead with 10 digs
>Middle blocker Micah Goss put away five kills, three digs and a block
>UCI's 64 kills is second most this season and 63 assists are the most
>The Cardinals (2) out-blocked the Anteaters 12-9, while UCI held the 48-37 advantage in digs. the 48 digs are the most in a match in 2026
>Ball State hit .234 and was led by first -team All-American Patrick Rogers
FIRST SET
>Ball State started with back-to-back blocks before Trevor Clark knocked a kill of a defender, Andrej Jokanovic placed one the back corner then Clark and Jokanovic teamed for a block , 3-2
>Andreas Brinck would put away consecutive kills to give the Anteaters an 8-6 edge
>A 5-1 spurt which included two kills by Jokanovic moved UCI out to a 13-9 advantage
>A block by Clark and Brinck was followed by two Ball State attack errors forced a Cardinal timeout, 18-13
>A scrappy team effort ended in a Micah Goss kill, 19-14
>Cameron Kosty had a solo block then set Clark for a quick hit in the middle, 23-17
>A block by Clark and William D'Arcy ended the set, 25-19
>UCI hit .324 and had five blocks. Ball State hit .114
SECOND SET
>Ball State would lead 6-4 on the strength of three Anteater attack errors
>A 4-1 Cardinal run which included two kill, a block and UCI error increased BSU's lead to 12-8
>UCI would chip away on two kills by Clark and another by Jokanovic to inch closer, 19-21
>Andon Kiriakou checked in, had a tough serve then made a great dig which was later banged off the block by Brinck, 22-23
>Teams would side out for the 25-23 Ball State win
THIRD SET
>Ball State held the early 3-1 lead
>UCI took its first lead on a kill by D'Arcy and two Cardinal attack errors, 12-11
>A kill by Jokanovic and a Cardinal attack wide put UCI at the media timeout with the 15-13 lead
>A 4-1 run which included two kills by Jokanovic and one by Clark forced a Ball State timeout, 19-15
>The Cardinals responded with a 4-1 run of their own to creep within 19-20
>A kill and block tied the score at 21 all
>A kill by Brinck down the line was followed by a solo block from Jokanovic, 23-21
>Back-and-forth we went with Ball State taking the next two on a kill and UCI attack error, 23-23
>A Ball State block put the Cardinal at set point, 25-24 before UCI ended the set with the final three points on a BSU service and attack error and kill by Jokanovic, 27-25
FOURTH SET
>A kill by Brinck and a Cardinal attack that sailed long gave UCI the slight 5-3 lead
>An ace that trickled over the net tied the set at 6-6
>Teams would go point-for-point until Brinck took over with three consecutive kills, 14-11
>Consecutive Ball State errors increased the lead to 16-12
>Ball State gained ground, 15-18 before UCI used a Cardinal service error, ace by Kosty and kill by Clark, 21-15
>D'Arcy banged it off the block then a triple block by Brinck, Goss and Kosty, 25-19
NOTES
>UCI is 12-4 all-time in NCAA competition
>The Anteaters have won three in a row
The Anteaters (21-8) advance to the title match for the fifth time in program history and will play Hawaii Monday (May 11) at 4:00 p.m. The match will be televised on ESPN2.
Four UC Irvine players had double-digit kills led by AVCA National Newcomer of the Year Andrej Jokanovic with 18. The freshman hit .308 and added six digs and three total blocks.
Middle block Trevor Clark, the nation's leader in hitting percentage did not disappoint with a .722 mark tying his career-high 14 kills. He led the team with six total blocks (1 solo).
Freshman Andreas Brinck recorded 13 kills, a career-tying seven blocks and three block assists, while senior William D'Arcy had 12 kills and a season-high 10 digs plus a block assist.
Setter Cameron Kosty orchestrated the Anteater attack to a .362 mark (64-18-127) with 53 set assists, one shy of his career-high and nine digs. The redshirt freshman had two kills, an ace and two blocks (1 solo).
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>Libero Shane Aitken shared the team lead with 10 digs
>Middle blocker Micah Goss put away five kills, three digs and a block
>UCI's 64 kills is second most this season and 63 assists are the most
>The Cardinals (2) out-blocked the Anteaters 12-9, while UCI held the 48-37 advantage in digs. the 48 digs are the most in a match in 2026
>Ball State hit .234 and was led by first -team All-American Patrick Rogers
FIRST SET
>Ball State started with back-to-back blocks before Trevor Clark knocked a kill of a defender, Andrej Jokanovic placed one the back corner then Clark and Jokanovic teamed for a block , 3-2
>Andreas Brinck would put away consecutive kills to give the Anteaters an 8-6 edge
>A 5-1 spurt which included two kills by Jokanovic moved UCI out to a 13-9 advantage
>A block by Clark and Brinck was followed by two Ball State attack errors forced a Cardinal timeout, 18-13
>A scrappy team effort ended in a Micah Goss kill, 19-14
>Cameron Kosty had a solo block then set Clark for a quick hit in the middle, 23-17
>A block by Clark and William D'Arcy ended the set, 25-19
>UCI hit .324 and had five blocks. Ball State hit .114
SECOND SET
>Ball State would lead 6-4 on the strength of three Anteater attack errors
>A 4-1 Cardinal run which included two kill, a block and UCI error increased BSU's lead to 12-8
>UCI would chip away on two kills by Clark and another by Jokanovic to inch closer, 19-21
>Andon Kiriakou checked in, had a tough serve then made a great dig which was later banged off the block by Brinck, 22-23
>Teams would side out for the 25-23 Ball State win
THIRD SET
>Ball State held the early 3-1 lead
>UCI took its first lead on a kill by D'Arcy and two Cardinal attack errors, 12-11
>A kill by Jokanovic and a Cardinal attack wide put UCI at the media timeout with the 15-13 lead
>A 4-1 run which included two kills by Jokanovic and one by Clark forced a Ball State timeout, 19-15
>The Cardinals responded with a 4-1 run of their own to creep within 19-20
>A kill and block tied the score at 21 all
>A kill by Brinck down the line was followed by a solo block from Jokanovic, 23-21
>Back-and-forth we went with Ball State taking the next two on a kill and UCI attack error, 23-23
>A Ball State block put the Cardinal at set point, 25-24 before UCI ended the set with the final three points on a BSU service and attack error and kill by Jokanovic, 27-25
FOURTH SET
>A kill by Brinck and a Cardinal attack that sailed long gave UCI the slight 5-3 lead
>An ace that trickled over the net tied the set at 6-6
>Teams would go point-for-point until Brinck took over with three consecutive kills, 14-11
>Consecutive Ball State errors increased the lead to 16-12
>Ball State gained ground, 15-18 before UCI used a Cardinal service error, ace by Kosty and kill by Clark, 21-15
>D'Arcy banged it off the block then a triple block by Brinck, Goss and Kosty, 25-19
NOTES
>UCI is 12-4 all-time in NCAA competition
>The Anteaters have won three in a row
Players Mentioned
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OH/OPP
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