Match Stats
- UC Irvine def. Long Beach State 3-2, (25-22, 25-23, 26-28, 17-25, 17-15)
- UCI moves to 11-17, 6-8 Big West, while LBSU falls to 17-10, 11-3 Big West
- Hosted by UC Irvine
A match that was held in Long Beach State’s hands just months earlier, no longer belongs to them. Back on Sept. 24 Long Beach originally won the match 3-2 over UC Irvine, but the match was protested by UCI. The NCAA ruled the match to be replayed or ruled a no contest, based on an officiating error in the second set when a UCI substitution was improperly deemed illegal.
The Big West Conference ruled that the match be replayed as Long Beach State’s position in the conference standings and potential uproot on the Big West Championship. The match began play in the second set, when the officiating error occurred. UC Irvine led the match at that point 1-0 and leading in the second 20-18.
UC Irvine was led by Victoria Dennis who posted 24 kills, seven digs and two solo blocks. Danielle Geiger tied her carerr-best with 19 kills, while Harlee Kekauoha recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs.
Nele Barber posted a new career-best of 25 kills, while also picking up 13 digs, making it her 19th double-double of the year, and the 50th match where she ended the night with 10+ kills. YiZhi Xue recorded her personal best 14 kills on a .400 hitting percentage, and setter Missy Owens posted a double-double with 59 assists and 19 digs.
In the fifth and deciding set, Long Beach State jumped to a 10-4 lead, but UC Irvine fought back, tying the set at 11 all. Long Beach had a pair of match points but couldn’t deliver, dropping the set and the match 17-15.
Press Release
Courtesy of UC Irvine Athletics
IRVINE, Calif. – After trailing 10-4 in the fifth set, UC Irvine rallied to topple Long Beach State, 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 26-28, 17-25, 17-15) at the Bren Events Center Tuesday.
UCI swept the season series with the Forty-Niners for the first time since 2003 after the Anteaters also beat LBSU 3-2 in Long Beach on Oct. 28.
Long Beach State scored the first three points of the fifth set and led 10-4 before the Anteaters mounted thier comeback, outscoring the Forty-Niners 7-1 to knot the score at 11-11. In that spurt UCI had three aces, one by Harlee Kekauoha and two by Haley DeSales. An ace by Brianna Montgomery gave UCI its first lead at 13-12. LBSU held match point 14-13 on a block, but UCI answered with a kill by Victoria Dennis, 14-14. Another block by the Forty-Niners was followed by a free ball passed over by Arden Davis that Long Beach watched hit the floor, 15-15. A kill by Kekauoha and a Long Beach attack in the net gave UCI the 17-15 victory.
UCI was led by outside hitter Victoria Dennis with 24 kills, seven digs and two solo blocks. Middle blocker Danielle Geiger tied her career-high with 19 kills and three block assists, while opposite Harlee Kekauoha added 11 kills and 10 digs. Libero Luna Tsujimoto had a team-best 20 digs followed by outside hitter Haley DeSales who tied her career-high with 18 digs and pitched in five kills and three aces. Setter Ali Koumelis had 16 digs in the first two sets. Loryn Carter totaled six kills and five digs and setter Shelley Anderson recorded 36 set assists in the win.
Four Long Beach State players recorded kills in double-digits led by Nele Barber’s match-high. YiZhi Xue (14), Peyton Grahovac (11) and Ashley Murray (11) followed Barber in the kill category. Hailey Harward had a match-high 26 digs, while Missy Owens had five kills, 59 set assists and 19 digs.
The match, which began on Sept. 24 with UCI winning the first set 25-22, was finished on Nov. 15 after being picked up with UCI leading 20-18 in the second set. Consecutive kills by Dennis and Geiger gave the Anteaters the 23-20 lead. Two kills by YZhi Xue narrowed the margin to 23-22 then the teams would trade points before Dennis put away the set winner 25-23, giving the Anteaters the 2-0 match lead.
Long Beach State started with a quick 4-1 lead in the third set and would maintain it until the Anteaters knotted the score at 11-11. LBSU would hold the 21-19 lead before a kill and ace by Makayla Wolfe and a Forty-Niner error moved the Anteaters in front 22-21. A kill by Geiger gave UCI match point 24-23, but LBSU would score the next two to hold set point, 25-24. Teams would exchange points to 26-26 then the Forty-Niners would close it out with two kills by Nele Barber, 28-26.
In the fourth set, Long Beach State led 17-15 then would use an 8-2 run to force a fifth set, 25-17.
With the win, UCI picked up two points in the Black & Blue Rivalry Series presented by Duke’s of Huntington Beach.
UCI will travel to UC Davis Saturday (Nov. 19) for a 7:00 p.m. match at The Pavilion.
Press Release
Courtesy of Long Beach State Athletics
Irvine, Calif. – In Tuesday night’s replay of a protested match, Long Beach State suffered a 25-22, 25-23, 26-28, 17-25, 17-15 loss at UC Irvine. The Beach originally won 3-2 at UCI back on Sept. 24, but the match was protested by UC Irvine. The NCAA ruled the match to be replayed or ruled a no contest, based on an officiating error in the second set when a UCI substitution was improperly deemed illegal.
The Big West Conference ruled that the match must be replayed due to Long Beach State’s position in the conference standings and potential bearing on the Big West Championship. The match was resumed during set two, with Irvine leading 1-0 in the match and leading 20-18 in set two.
With the loss, LBSU is now 17-10 overall and 11-3 in Big West play. UC Irvine improved to 11-17 and 6-8 in conference action.
Nele Barber established a new career high with 25 kills on the match, recording 16 of those kills on Tuesday night. She also had 13 digs to record her 19th double-double of the year, and she now has 50 matches with 10+ kills during her two seasons at Long Beach State.
YiZhi Xue also had a career performance, tallying a personal best 14 kills on a .400 hitting percentage. Ashley Murray and Peyton Grahovac each added 11 kills. Missy Owens finished with a career high 59 assists, plus had 19 digs and five kills. Libero Hailey Harward recorded 26 digs to finish just one shy of her career high.
LBSU started the match Tuesday in a quick 0-2 hole, based on the circumstances of the replay. The Beach and UCI split the first 10 points evenly, but that was enough for the Anteaters to win the abbreviated second set, 25-23.
The 49ers responded with their backs against the wall, surviving a match point in the third set and winning a heated battle, 28-26. LBSU had 27 digs in the third to hold UCI to .176 hitting, led by an impressive 12 from Harward alone. Barber registered her sixth and seventh kills of the frame to close it out and force the match to a fourth game.
Set four saw the Beach at its best, hitting .424 in the frame. Barber had seven kills on nine swings in the set and Grahovac added five kills and four digs. The Beach finished the set strong, closing on an 8-2 run. Barber started that run with three consecutive kills, scoring on four of five points. Perhaps fittingly, Barber ended the set with a tape ace to roll the Beach into the fifth set with momentum.
LBSU raced out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth, getting kills from every position across the net. The lead grew to 10-4 before UC Irvine worked back into the set, using a 7-1 run to tie the frame at 11-11. Long Beach had a pair of match points, but couldn’t put the Anteaters away, and a 3-0 Irvine run gave the hosts the win.
The Beach returns to action on Friday with a trip to Cal State Fullerton, followed by Senior Night on Saturday against UC Riverside. Both matches are scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
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