UC Irvine’s Women’s Club Volleyball team (9-9, 7-8) tied for fifth place in Division IAAA Gold bracket at the Volleyball Championships presented by the National Collegiate Volleyball Federation (NCVF) at the Phoenix Convention Center on Thursday, April 14 to Saturday, April 16.
The Lady Anteaters were undefeated for the first two days of competition with ten straight sets won, taking almost every match in two sets. It wasn’t until the final day of the tournament that the ‘Eaters fell to the University of Oregon after an exhausting three-set match, 1-2 (19-25, 25-21, 11-15). Ball State University-A (3-4, 0-0), which the ‘Eaters defeated 2-0 the previous day, went on to acquire the Division 1AAA Gold championship title.
The first tournament day, April 14, began promptly at 8 a.m. with the ‘Eaters facing off against the University of Maryland (1-4, 0-0). It was evident that the ‘Eaters had a sleepy start, making sluggish moves to the ball. Still, Maryland didn’t pose a huge offensive threat, giving time for the ‘Eater defense to wake up. With ample volleyball IQ, the team placed balls in prime locations to earn points and began to pull away from their opponents. Irvine took the first set 25-22 after a missed serve by Maryland.
Heading into the second set against Maryland it was apparent that the ‘Eaters found their rhythm. The Irvine team converted balls and went on a few scoring runs that kept Maryland on their heels. With consistent pressure at the net, the ‘Eaters took the second set to end the match 2-0 (25-22, 25-15). With that, the ‘Eaters completed their first win of the tournament, continuing on to play Rochester Institute (3-3, 3-3).
Rochester played a little scrappier compared to Maryland. Irvine walked onto the court with confidence ready to get their next victory. With little offensive pressure from Rochester, the Irvine squad easily made it out on top with a 25-10 win.
In the second set, Rochester played surprisingly well on the defensive end which kept Irvine from gaining any easy points. Irvine struggled to pull points with several unforced errors and dropped balls. Rochester’s defensive abilities withheld momentum from the ‘Eaters as pin-hitters became frustrated at the inability to put anything away. Still, after much-needed energy from the bench, the Irvine team was revitalized, amping up their offense to get the second set win at 25-22.
For the final match of Thursday’s pool play, the Lady ‘Eaters took on Northern Kentucky University (0-5, 0-0). Kentucky proved to be offensively inferior compared to the ‘Eaters. As such, the Irvine squad obtained a fairly quick win on the first set at 25-14, coming out swinging from the first whistle. In the second set however, the ‘Eaters struggled to find the court. With a multitude of hitting errors, Irvine barely came out on top in the second set at 25-23.
With an undefeated run thus far, the Irvine squad was rewarded with the afternoon wave for Friday’s matches, beginning at 5:30 p.m. versus the University of Pennsylvania (8-3, 0-0).
With a full warm-up under their belts, the Irvine team was ready to add to their winning streak. The Penn hitters struggled to get past the Anteater block and promptly resorted to back-row attacks. Yet the Irvine defense was ready for anything. The ‘Eaters monopolized off unforced errors by the Penn team while simultaneously increasing their offensive pressure. Yet, after an influx of hitting errors on the Irvine side, Penn caught up despite Irvine’s huge lead. Regardless, the ‘Eaters were able to secure the first set at 25-22.
Going into the second set, the Irvine squad was determined to shut down their opponents and prevent another undesired scoring run. The ‘Eaters swung at every set keeping Penn from generating any offensive energy of their own. It wasn’t long until the ‘Eaters completed their fourth straight match win taking the second set 25-12.
Next, the Anteater squad took on Ball State University-A (3-4, 0-0). Despite the team’s athleticism, Irvine was not intimidated. Riding their undefeated high, the ‘Eaters looked to use their dominance at the net to shut down the Ball State hitters.
In the opening moments of the first set the ‘Eaters quickly established a dominating momentum after back-to-back errors from the Ball State side. With the Men’s Club Volleyball cheering on the Lady ‘Eaters from the sidelines, Ball State was unable to gain energy, preventing them from achieving any good runs. While both sides proved to be pretty evenly matched, Irvine took the first set 25-22.
Going into the second set, the ‘Eaters knew they would have to push hard for each point. The Ball State offense steadily applied more pressure to the ‘Eater defense by tooling blockers and utilizing well-placed hits. But, the Anteaters were a step ahead. Irvine quickly adjusted their defensive strategy, taking line on the Ball State hitters and shading over on back-row defense. With the never-ending support from the Men’s club team, the ‘Eaters utilized their momentum to take the second set win at 25-23 to remain undefeated.
Senior libero Marissa Tong commented on the importance of supporting one another both on and off the court and the crucial energy it carried into the match.
“Not only were we so focused and in control of the game, but you could also feel everybody’s energy off and on the court,” Tong said. “That was also the game the whole men’s team decided to show up to. Hearing them encourage and support the women’s team holds a really special place in my heart as it was so great to see how happy it made the rest of my team members.”
Going into Saturday’s quarterfinal match-up, the ‘Eaters felt untouchable at 5-0. The next team in Irvine’s scope was the University of Oregon-B (5-3, 5-3) for a single-elimination match to earn a place in the quarterfinal Championship play-offs.
The ‘Eaters struggled to convert points in the first set of this match, causing a dampened energy blanketed on the court. Irvine couldn’t gain much offensive traction after several missed passes and dropped balls. After a multitude of unforced errors, it wasn’t long until UO took the first set at 25-19.
Determined to fight for their place in the semifinals the ‘Eaters honed in on the basics to get the next set win. With more passion and vitality, the Irvine team fought hard for each point. Solid passing and better-placed hits allowed the ‘Eaters to secure the second set 25-21.
There was only one set standing in between Irvine and the semi-final round. Tensions heightened as the team stepped onto the court, for what was unknowingly the last time for many of the Lady Anteaters. With a strong momentum endowed by deafening support by their Men’s team, Oregon stole back the energy from the ‘Eaters. Despite exhausting plays and desperate swings from Irvine, the Anteater squad was unable to beat Oregon to the final fifteen point. Although the ‘Eaters fought hard to the end, the tie-breaker set went to UO 15-11.
Tong commented on her thoughts about the deciding factor of this final match of the tournament.
“It was honestly a really close game, but ultimately the deciding factor for UO’s win was that they took care of what they did on their side of the court,” Tong said. “Whether it was offensively or defensively, they were able to keep the ball in play and lessen their amount of errors.”
With that, the Irvine team was out of the tournament ending their run tied for fifth place in their division. The women’s team had one last huddle before leaving their court to cheer on the men’s team competing in their semifinal match.
Graduating senior outside hitter Sanela Adzic, who was later awarded honorable mention for first team all tournament, commented on the influx of emotions while making her way off the volleyball court for the final time with this competitive team.
“Walking off the court was a tough pill to swallow,” Adzic said. “Probably one of the most bitter sweet moments in life so far. Competitive volleyball has been a huge part of my life and for that to end and have that realization was hard to say the least. The group of girls I’ve been playing with at UCI have all become my best friends and family away from home so it made it even more emotional realizing this was my last time playing with them.”
Although this marked the end of this year’s competitive season for the women’s club volleyball team, the ‘Eaters are proud of what they have accomplished. Next, they will turn towards the upcoming season with an even higher drive and focus to come out on top at the next NCVF Championships.
Gina Johnson is a 2021-2022 Sports Co-Editor. She can be reached at sports@newuniversity.org.