The No. 4 UCI Men’s volleyball team (9-13, 2-5) defeated No. 5 Cal State Northridge (6-12, 1-6), 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 28-26), at the Bren Events Center in Irvine on Saturday, April 9 at 7 p.m.
Riding the win from their victorious 3-1 away game at CSUN on April 8, the ‘Eaters took down the Matadors once more in Irvine. However, the home court looked a little different tonight.
The night’s match was a concurrent tribute to the new “Court 21” Taraflex flooring in honor of Tim Vorenkamp, the brother of redshirt junior setter Patrick Vorenkamp. Tim, who had signed to play volleyball for UC Irvine in 2015, passed away only a year later after his diagnosis of synovial sarcoma, a very rare form of cancer. Parents Peter and Karen Vorenkamp donated the custom court to honor their son’s legacy, outfitting the Bren flooring with Tim’s No. 21 jersey.
Although Patrick Vorenkamp could not play in the night’s match due to an injury, he was able to watch his Anteater squad take down CSUN on the new court dedicated to his brother.
The first set of the night started off with a deadly float serve from senior setter Brian Garcia, who had just recently made his way back onto the court coming off a nearly season-long injury.
After two back-to-back attack errors from CSUN redshirt sophomore outside hitter Kyle Hobus, followed by an insane roof by Irvine’s sophomore outside hitter Francesco Sani from the right side, the early lead went to the ‘Eaters, 3-1.
Garcia made another huge block from the right side, denying access to a CSUN tip and affirming the ‘Eater’s dominance at the net. Yet, after a shanked pass by Sani, the Matadors had an opportunity to get it back at 6-7.
The ‘Eaters broke away after a massive block on the left side by UCI’s junior outside hitter Akhil Tangutur, giving them a 13-9 lead. Redshirt sophomore outside hitter Doug Dahm promptly followed up with another block to shut down the Matador offense.
Northridge attempted to scrape together some points with a few quick kills from the middle, but ultimately the Irvine squad pulled out a win based on the Matadors’ numerous unforced errors. After a service ace by Garcia, the set went to the ‘Eaters, 25-14.
Going into the second set, CSUN dished out an unexpected ace from sophomore outside hitter Griffin Walters. Yet, after a swift setter dump from Garcia followed by yet another ace, it was apparent that Irvine called the shots, 2-1.
After a tool off the block backed by a sharp angle kill from redshirt junior opposite Ryan DeWeese, the Matadors were suddenly up by one, 8-7. Tensions rose as the Irvine team felt CSUN inching their way back into the match. Yet, after a solo block by Anteater junior middle blocker Aiden Wolf-Nielsen, the set was tied up at 10-10.
Both teams continued to exchange points from service and attack errors until CSUN broke away with back-to-back kills, 20-19. Regardless, Irvine simply returned the favor with their own coupled kills from Tangutur and redshirt sophomore outside hitter Cole Gillis. Suddenly, the set was tied up at 22-22.
After a few more unforced errors from the Matadors, the second set ended in favor of the ‘Eaters after an ace by Sani, 25-23. This gave Irvine a one-set lead, 2-0.
The third and final set opened with back-to-back kills by CSUN redshirt junior middle blocker Daniel Wetter, putting CSUN at an early lead of 2-0. With UCI off to an offensive slow start, the Matadors soon pulled ahead 6-3. A setter dump from Garcia and kills from Gillis and Sani added some points to the Eaters’ score; however, CSUN continued to lead 13-8.
Irvine put the pressure on the Matadors and shortened their lead to 14-13 using kills from Garcia, Sani, Tangutur and Dahm. However, after UCI committed a couple setting and attack errors, CSUN regained a sizable lead, 21-16.
UCI channeled their initial momentum and tied the set up 23-23, capitalizing off of ill-timed attack errors by the Matadors, along with four single kills by Sani. CSUN ended the night with 20 attack errors to UCI’s 11.
The next few minutes were intense for the two teams as they traded points back-and-forth, tying again at 26-26. A well-executed block by Wolf-Nielsen and Tangutur, along with a closing kill by Sani, led to a controversial call from the referee, leaving the Bren in anticipation of the final result. Siding with UCI, the ‘Eaters managed to complete their comeback victory, 28-26, and finished the night with a sweep, 3-0.
The Anteaters out-blocked the Matadors 11-2, while also leading in assists and digs. Wetter led CSUN with a match-high of 15 kills, hitting .667, and Sani led UCI with 14 kills, hitting .435.
Controlling the night’s match with 36 total assists, Garcia relayed his gratitude for being back on the court.
“I just feel happy and grateful that I get to play,” Garcia said. “Not everybody gets to play, especially with injuries and illnesses so I just feel full of gratitude at the moment. It’s a beautiful night especially for the tribute so I’m just happy overall.”
The Anteaters look forward to hosting back-to-back matches against the University of Hawaii at the Bren Events Center in Irvine on April 15 and 16 for their final regular-season matches.
Gina Johnson is a 2021-2022 Sports Co-Editor. She can be reached at sports@newuniversity.org.
Harleen Thandi is a 2021-2022 Sports Apprentice. She can be reached at hthandi@uci.edu.
