The Men’s Club Volleyball at UCI A Team claimed the bronze championship medal at the San Diego State University (SDSU) preseason invitational tournament in San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 19 and Sunday, Nov. 20.
The ‘Eaters began pool play on Saturday morning, facing off against CSUN-A. The first set of the match started slow for the Anteater squad who struggled to earn offensive points against CSUN’s backrow defense. The Matadors proved to be a very scrappy team early on. Their backrow consistently secured amazing digs which enabled them to continue to run their offense against the ‘Eaters. Still, Irvine found the cracks in the CSUN defense and was able to secure the first set win 30-28.
Going into the second set, it was evident that Irvine’s immobility on defense was allowing the Matadors to go on offensive runs. When the ‘Eaters were able to put the ball away, they struggled behind the service line which hindered their ability to accumulate points. The second set went to CSUN 25-23, but Irvine was determined to battle back in the tie-breaker set.
The final set showcased the ‘Eaters inability to side out on serve-receive and get the ball back in their possession. Despite their desire to win, the Anteaters couldn’t put together enough consecutive points. The CSUN momentum continued to put pressure on the Irvine defense enabling the Matadors to take the third set victory 15-10.
Next, the Anteaters took on the SDSU Alumni team who quickly showed themselves to be an offensive threat. The first set went to SDSU 25-19 after a slow start from the ‘Eater offense. Irvine fought to get past the SDSU block, but often were unable to find the gaps in the SDSU at-net defense.
Going into the second set, UCI switched up their lineup and began to put together some plays. As the backrow defense began to make more moves to the ball, led by junior libero Tyler Bailey, the Irvine squad had more opportunities to run their lethal offense. The ‘Eaters secured the second set win 25-18.
Fired up for the tie-breaker match, UCI came in hot, swinging away at every ball. The Irvine team began a slight run before SDSU struck back as they challenged the ‘Eater block which consistently struggled to read SDSU’s fast-paced offense. The Aztec alumnis swung hard through the gaps of Irvine’s at-net defense and continued to force Irvine’s backrow to pick up massive hits. The ‘Eaters stayed in it with hard-driven balls from junior outsides Anton Vo and George Pan.
With great digs from the backrow, Irvine was able to unleash their middle threats allowing senior middle blocker Adarsh Pachori and junior middle blocker Noah Maclean to secure deadly kills. Still, SDSU broke away as the Anteater defense began to tire. The alumni squad took the third set 15-12.
It was evident that the ‘Eaters struggled to close out these tight matches. Vice President Christopher Ramirez Jr. commented on this.
“The biggest challenge for us was the styles of teams we played were a little different than what we’re typically used to and simply struggled to adjust,” Ramirez said. “We allowed the other teams to control the game and when that happens it makes it much more difficult for us to finish these close games.”
Hungry for a win the ‘Eaters next faced off against Utah Valley-A as their final match of Saturday pool play. Utah Valley proved to be the toughest opponents thus far and put heavy offensive pressure on the ‘Eaters right away. Like SDSU, Utah also continuously challenged the ‘Eater block and consistently forced angles past the Irvine defense. Irvine fought back with thunderous hits from the pins, led by President senior opposite Evan Marks, but it just wasn’t enough to give Irvine the lead. The ‘Eater block couldn’t make enough stops and Utah took the first set 25-21.
The Irvine squad hoped to take Utah Valley to three sets and attempted to hone in on their determination to take a victory in this second set. Yet, Irvine couldn’t make the necessary adjustments to protect their backrow. The Wolverines continued to get past the ‘Eater block to go on runs. Irvine made some great plays to stay in it and fought back with their own insane offense. Still, Utah Valley put up a strong block to hinder Irvine’s ability to terminate the ball. After a close match the ‘Eaters fell for the final time 22-25.
Marks commented on his team’s 0-3 record for Saturday’s matches and their determination to turn the tables for Sunday’s playoff matches.
“I just think the overall level of play was very low on Saturday,” he said. “We struggled to do a lot of things that we normally don’t struggle with and that showed. Coming into Sunday, we just cleaned up our game and played more loose, and it all came together.”
With a new mindset going into Sunday’s matches, the Anteaters set their sights on the bronze championship medal. For the first round of bronze bracket playoffs, Irvine took on Georgia Tech. This quarterfinal face-off displayed the ‘Eaters offensive advantage. Although Georgia Tech made some great saves, it was evident that the Anteaters had stronger hitters enabling them to take the first set 25-21.
In the second set, the ‘Eater defense was unstoppable. Several blocks shut down the Georgia Tech offense allowing Irvine to go on more runs. UCI took the second set 25-20 and secured a spot in the semifinal round.
Next, the Anteater A-team took on their own as they battled against UCI-B. This match was much different than the previous ones as UCI-A felt a different kind of pressure going up against their own B team. UCI-B joked that winning against their A team should result in the teams switching their A/B status.
With that, UCI-A shut down their remarks and continuously ran their offensive edge against their fellow Anteaters. UCI-B fought back with massive swings from junior opposite Spencer Sloniger and sophomore outside Milo Tai. After some great rallies, UCI-A took the first set win 25-21 despite the competitive determination from the ‘Eater B team.
The second set showcased the UCI-A ability to terminate the ball as they ran a quicker offense than their fellow Anteaters. UCI-B struggled to pick up the massive swings from the other side of the net. The A team Anteaters struck down the B team one last time, abusing the known cracks in their B team defense. UCI-A took the second and final set 25-15 securing a spot in the final round of bronze bracket playoffs.
With only one match between Irvine and the bronze championship title, UCI-A took on Utah Valley-B with a focused drive to win. The Irvine team would have to step up their defense if they wanted to take this victory from the UV-B team. Starting off the first set of the match, the Anteaters challenged the Utah block with epic swings from the pins. Irvine showcased their incredible blocking abilities by stuffing the Wolverines. Back-to-back roofs by Marks caused the Utah Valley pin hitters to look frazzled.
Still, Irvine struggled to run their offense and close out points in rallies. The Wolverines proved to be an adequate out of system team, something the ‘Eaters struggled with, and continued to run their pins and backrow attackers against the Irvine team. UV broke away with their service pressure and took the first set 25-19.
Going into the second set, the ‘Eaters honed in on their advantages in the first match. Irvine continued to out-block Utah and found the gaps in their at-net defense. While UV still picked up several balls, the ‘Eaters continued to run their offensive edge, refusing to let Utah take the set. Both teams remained neck and neck for much of the second set, but Irvine began to go on runs led by their middle attack. The ‘Eaters closed out the second set with a 25-22 win.
The third and final set was uncomfortably close as both teams exchanged points, not letting the other go on scoring runs. Irvine displayed their perseverance in this set and ran down every ball. Junior setter Christopher Ramirez Jr. made great efforts to the ball and established an unstoppable setter-hitter connection with Marks who secured back-to-back kills both at the net and in the backrow. Still, UV’s defense received some of Marks’ massive swings and ran their own deadly offense. The ‘Eaters weren’t going to let it be easy though, and they continued to shut down the Wolverines with their blocking advantage.
Junior outside Noah Ding shut down the UV opposite with a debilitating block that erupted the Irvine bench. With an influx of energy, Irvine knew what they had to do to pull out the win. The Anteaters stayed focused on their abilities, forcing their opponents to make their own errors. Utah couldn’t take the pressure and fell after two back-to-back hitting errors from their pins. Irvine took the final set victory 15-13 and secured the bronze championship title.
Marks reflected on his team’s performance at the SDSU preseason invitational and his thoughts on taking home the bronze title.
“It always feels good to win,” he said. “We would have rather been in gold and probably should’ve, but being able to put together three back-to-back to-back wins on Sunday definitely felt good. We have a high skill level on our team and will be working very hard the next few months to bring back some more hardware.”
Next, the ‘Eaters will compete at the Southern California Collegiate Volleyball League MLK Invite in Corona, CA on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 to mark the start of their competitive season.
Gina Johnson is a 2022-2023 Sports Editor. She can be reached at sports@newuniversity.org.
