The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team finished an 18-day trek through Asia in mid-September, including two matches against Shanghai Golden Age, a top professional team in China.
The teams split those match with each side winning in four sets.
Shanghai Golden Age vs. UC Irvine in Shanghai – UC Irvine Athletics
On Tuesday night, the night belonged to the visiting Shanghai side at Bren Events Center in Irvine as the team defeated the Anteaters 26-24, 25-18, 25-21 in an exhibition match.
Karl Apfelbach led UCI with nine kills, while JB Kam added six kills, seven digs and four blocks. The nation’s top recruit, freshman opposite Jonny Bowles, made his debut in front of the home fans with six putaways.
“They play with an intensity that we hope to learn from.”
Setter Dante Chakravorti following the ‘Eaters exhibition match vs. the Shanghai Golden Age.
— UCI M Volleyball (@UCImvb) October 3, 2018
Zhejia Zhang led all hitters with 10 kills on an eye-popping .909 hitting effort (10-0-11) for Shanghai. Quingyao Dai and Tianyl Han added seven kills apiece for the team.
A full recap of the match, including stats is available here.
Iron sharpens Iron🛠⚙️ time to keep building and getting calibrated for the upcoming season pic.twitter.com/F9G3JXxjZj
— UCI M Volleyball (@UCImvb) October 3, 2018
The Anteaters provided updates throughout the Asian Tour which took the team to Seoul, South Korea; Osaka and Tokyo, Japan; and Shanghai, China, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 17. Several players and head coach David Kniffin providing updates through postcard journals.
- Postcards from Asia: Time for Departure – by David Kniffin
- Postcards from Asia: Starting in South Korea – by David Kniffin
- Postcards from Asia: Hyundai Skywalkers – by David Kniffin and freshman setter Patrick Vorenkamp
- Postcards from Asia: The 12-Legged Monster by David Kniffin and redshirt sophomore middle/opposite Patrick Sohacki
- Postcards from Asia: Osmosis by junior middle blocker Scott Stadick
- Postcards from Asia: The Seed is Planted by David Kniffin and senior opposite Karl Apfelbach
Senior setter Dante Chakravorti also gave his take on the tour in the video below.
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