UC Irvine Men’s Volleyball (4-8) finally broke their tense seven-game losing streak against the Pepperdine Waves (5-3) in a dominating four set rematch at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 11 (13-25, 25-21, 25-21, 26-24). With this promising victory, the Anteaters hope to sustain their momentum in their pursuit of an NCAA Championship.
Both teams sailed smoothly through the early part of the first set. The score was leveled with each team siding-out efficiently and fighting to grab a comfortable lead.
At 8-8, it seemed that history would repeat itself for the Anteaters as they gave away a massive lead to the Waves. With simple service pressure and hustling defensive plays, Pepperdine forced UC Irvine into uncomfortable situations. This settled the score at 13-8.
While the Waves cruised effortlessly early on in the match, UCI failed to find a connection in the initial set. Poor passing and an out-of-system offense from the Anteaters allowed Pepperdine to easily take home the first game, finishing at 13-25.
Determined to change patterns from the previous set, Irvine freshman outside hitter Hilir Henno took the reins and led his teammates into a grueling battle against the Waves.
The Anteaters secured a fast, albeit small, lead over the Waves. Midway through the set, the match turned into a game of errors, with both teams waiting for mistakes from the other side. At last, Pepperdine made multiple hitting and passing errors, giving UC Irvine a substantial lead. Irvine junior outside hitter Akhil Tangutur was subbed in and helped steady his team. With his leadership, the ‘Eaters took control of the set and tied the score at 1-1.
The Anteaters were feeling good heading into the third game. Pepperdine earned a slight lead early on, but Irvine was determined to keep the Waves from obtaining a scoring run.
Halfway through the set, the pressure was on. UC Irvine needed to create opportunities to score, and they did. At 16-18, Irvine sophomore middle blocker Connor Campbell snuck a kill past the Pepperdine block. Then at 17-18, Tangutur cut a serve through Waves’ receivers, causing them to play out-of-system. Campbell stopped the subsequent attack with a massive block touch, giving his team a defensive opportunity and finishing with a bounce kill on the Pepperdine sideline. The set was tied at 18 apiece.
Pepperdine couldn’t prevent the Anteaters from running away with the set victory. As Irvine maintained their pressure on the Waves, Pepperdine was forced into more errors at the stretch. The Malibu boys served the final ball out, giving UC Irvine the third set, 2-1, at 25-21.
Emotions were high as the fourth and final set began. Pepperdine once again obtained an early advantage over UC Irvine and kept their comfortable lead for the majority of the game. Nevertheless, the Anteaters applied intense pressure onto their opponents and began inching their way back up.
At 22-24, Irvine redshirt sophomore outside hitter Cole Gillis hammered a ball down the line, giving Irvine their momentum back. At 23-24, Henno once again came in clutch for his team, producing a massive solo block and preventing a Waves victory. Pepperdine was rattled. The match was handed over to the Anteaters when Pepperdine graduate outside hitter Jaylen Jasper hit a spatch out of bounds. As a result, the ‘Eaters shattered their losing streak with this final 26-24 set, taking the match 3-1.
Regardless of their immense losing streak at the beginning of the season, the mission ahead is still the same for this fiery squad.
“Our ultimate goal at the end of the season is to win both [Big West and the NCAAs]. We are doing whatever it takes to prepare ourselves for that,” Tangutur said.
UC Irvine Men’s Volleyball will return to take on their local rivals, the Concordia Irvine Eagles, at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
Brian Garcia is a Sports Intern for the winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at briang7@uci.edu.
