The 2023 UC Irvine Women’s Volleyball 11-19 campaign came to an end following a first round loss at the Big West Women’s Volleyball Championship Tournament in Long Beach on Nov 22.
UC Irvine began their season with the UCI/Adidas Invitational at the Bren Events Center in late August where the Anteaters were unsuccessful against the University of New Mexico, Seton Hall and the University of San Francisco.
On Sept. 1, UC Irvine traveled to Chicago where they took part in the Windy City Invitational and secured two victories: One against Chicago State and one against Jacksonville State. On Sept. 3, following the conclusion of the Windy City Invitational, the Anteaters were defeated by Boston College 3-1 at home.
On Sept 6, the Anteaters went to Pullman, Wash. to compete in the Cougar Challenge where they picked up losses against Washington State, Brigham Young University and Towson University.
UC Irvine ended their non-conference schedule with the Big West/WAC Matchup on Sept. 15-16, where the Anteaters received losses from California Baptist University and Grand Canyon University.
The Anteaters got their third win of the season on Sept. 22 in their Big West home opener against UC Riverside. However, the next day, on Sept. 23, UC Irvine lost to UC Davis at home.
UC Irvine went on the road from Sept. 29-Oct. 7. In that time, they won against California State University, Fullerton while picking up losses against Cal Poly, UC Santa Barbara and University of Hawai’i.
After the Anteaters returned from the road, they were able to find some success on back-to-back nights as they swept both California State University, Bakersfield on Oct. 13 and California State University, Northridge 3-0 on Oct. 14.
However, the following week, UC Irvine was swept by Long Beach State University in a hyped-up Black and Blue rivalry game at home on Oct. 19. This was also the final game that the Anteaters played at the Bren Events Center as a result of flooding at the facility. All proceeding home games were played at Crawford Hall.
On Oct. 21, UC Irvine traveled to San Diego for a match against UC San Diego, but with a final score of 3-1, the Anteaters dropped another match on the road.
When the Anteaters returned home for their first game of the season inside Crawford Hall on Oct. 27, they were able to defeat No. 25 UC Santa Barbara 3-1, handing the Gauchos their only Big West regular season loss.
On Oct. 28 the Anteaters fell behind 0-2 to the Cal Poly Mustangs, but were able to dominate the next two sets to tie up the match 2-2. Ultimately, UC Irvine fell 16-14 in overtime during the fifth set and lost the match. The performances against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly were UC Irvine’s strongest performances over the top teams of the Big West all season.
UC Irvine went 1-1 on their next road trip, picking up a win against UC Davis on Nov. 2, but a loss against UC Riverside on Nov. 4.
When the Anteaters returned home for their final home matches of the season, they were able to sweep California State University, Fullerton on Nov. 9. The 3-0 ending featured an overturned call.
However, the ‘Eaters were swept by Hawai’i on Nov. 10 in a sold out game which saw the highest attendance of any women’s volleyball game this season. The match was sold out, in major part, due to Crawford Hall having a much smaller capacity compared to the Bren Events Center.
UC Irvine finished up their regular season with wins against California State University, Northridge and California State University, Bakersfield on Nov. 17 and 18.
Finishing with a 9-9 record in conference play, the Anteaters qualified for the Big West Women’s Championship tournament at Long Beach State University as the fifth seed. Their first round match was another Black and Blue rivalry game against the Long Beach State University Beach on Nov. 22.
The Anteaters won their first sets of the season against the Beach during this match as they dropped the first set 25-16, won the second set in overtime 27-25, lost the third set 25-14, won the fourth set 25-22, and fell in the fifth set 15-10. This match was characterized by their late-season play; a play which may not have won games, but stretched top teams to their limits.
Following the Big West tournament match, UC Irvine head coach Ashlie Hain had some thoughts about her team’s performance.
“We didn’t get started off as strong as we wanted to, but I was really proud of the fight they showed throughout the match, and we weren’t playing the cleanest volleyball, but we found ways to win,” UC Irvine head coach Hain said in a press conference following her team’s first round match. “I think that says a lot about their character and heart.”
Despite their first round loss, freshman setter/rightside Nicole Feliciano was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, marking the first time an Anteater has won the award since 2018, following a season in which she was named Big West Freshman of the Week twice.
Even though the Anteaters struggled, they had a good second half of the season where they stayed competitive despite tough losses. UC Irvine also achieved their first victory since 2019 over a ranked team, defeating a ranked UC Santa Barbara team, gaining some momentum that could be carried over into the 2024 season.
On Dec. 12 College Sports Communicators announced the 2023 Academic All-District Volleyball teams which included junior outside hitter Marianna Bertolone and junior setter Indy De Smet.
Jack Fedor is a Sports Intern for the fall 2023 quarter. He can be reached at jfedor@uci.edu.
