UC Irvine Takes Down SLU, 3-1

Friday, September 18

Las Vegas, Nev.

2:00 PM

UC Irvine

2-8,0-0Big West

Southeastern Louisiana University

3-8,0-0Southland

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Southeastern La.	19	26	21	16	1
UC Irvine	25	24	25	25	3

Box Score (PDF)

Nicole Feliciano hits the ball past a double block in an NCAA women's volleyball match.

Photo by: Matt Brown

UC Irvine Takes Down SLU, 3-1

September 18, 2026 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - UC Irvine women's volleyball started The Rebel Challenge with a 3-1 victory over Southeastern Louisiana Friday at The Pavilion. Set scores were 25-19, 24-26, 25-21, 25-16.

The Anteaters (2-8) came out firing as they led wire-to-wire in the first set. The Lions then made a late push to take the second and went up 9-2 in the third. UCI regrouped with a 7-1 run to cut the deficit to one. SLU increased its cushion back to four, but the 'Eaters proceeded to score 11 of the last 14 points for the win. They continued to dominate in the fourth where they ran away with their largest margin of victory in the match.

"I think we're a lot better than our record right now, so this win alleviates some pressure from all of our young ones out there," head coach Ashlie Hain said. "As we get healthier, I think we're going to keep getting better. There have just been a lot of challenges so it's always great to see the girls be successful together."

BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Madison Triplett led three Anteaters in double figure kills with 13. Freshman Taylor Boice also had 11 on .400 hitting to go along with a match-high six blocks. Senior Nicole Feliciano registered her third-straight double-double with 22 assists and a season-best 11 kills.

Redshirt freshman Jessica Bates was one kill shy of a triple-double, tallying a career-high 21 digs, a season-best 24 assists, and nine kills. Freshman Vani Tatoulian added eight kills (.375) and two blocks, while junior Whitney Wallace racked up 18 digs.

As a team, the 'Eaters hit .257 and held the Lions to .130. They won the battle in kills (60-42), assists (54-36), digs (64-54), and blocks (8-7).

Kyra McKelvey paced SLU's offense with nine kills, while Melina Gonzalez had a team-high 17 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine never trailed in the opening set, scoring the first three points and extending that into a 14-8 lead on a Memphis Burnett kill. Southeastern Louisiana made a late 3-0 push but would not get closer than four as the Anteaters finished strong for the 25-19 victory. Tatoulian led the way with four kills and no errors on five attempts (.800).

The Lions (3-8) pulled ahead 11-8 in set two before the 'Eaters went on a 10-5 run, capped by a Feliciano kill, to go up 18-16. SLU kept it close and took set point at 24-22. UCI then sided out with a Boice kill and tied it up on an opponent hitting error, but Southeastern Louisiana came back for the 26-24 win.

SLU carried the momentum into the third frame where it raced out to a 9-2 advantage. Boice then had three kills to spark a 7-1 rally that made it a one-point game. The Lions stayed out front and increased their cushion to four before another 6-1 spurt that ended with back-to-back Feliciano kills gave the Anteaters a 20-19 edge. UC Irvine did not relinquish that lead, eventually taking the set, 25-21.

The 'Eaters fell behind by three early in the fourth before reeling off six unanswered to go on top, 9-5. SLU was able to come back within two, but UCI sided out rebuilt its cushion to five. The Anteaters put their foot on the gas down the stretch with a Bates kill ending it at 25-16.

UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns to The Pavilion on Saturday, Sept. 19, to face tournament host UNLV at 2 p.m.

NOTES
• Jessica Bates had her first 20-dig match and UCI's fourth of the season.
• Whitney Wallace has seven consecutive double-digit dig performances.
• Taylor Boice has recorded 10+ kills in six of her last seven outings.
• Madison Triplett had her first back-to-back double-figure kill efforts of the season.
• Nicole Feliciano recorded her 47th career double-double.
• This was UC Irvine's first meeting with Southeastern Louisiana.