After enduring a challenging road stretch, the UC Irvine Women’s Volleyball team (14-9, 8-4) delivered a 3-1 victory over CSUN (8-15, 3-9) on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Set 1
In the first set, UC Irvine and CSUN started off closely matched, with both teams trading points early. CSUN initially took a slight edge at 9-7 after a few errors from UC Irvine, but the Anteaters quickly retaliated. Irvine’s offense sparked with kills from junior outside hitter Kendra MacDonald, giving the Anteaters a four-point lead at 16-12. As the scores widened, UC Irvine held their ground, closing out the set with two consecutive kills from MacDonald, winning 25-21.
Set 2
The Anteaters carried their momentum into the second set, starting off strong with back-to-back kills from graduate student outside hitter Katie Smith, pushing the score to 8-4. CSUN kept UCI on their toes, however, closing the gap at 10-10. From there, the Matadors took advantage of errors by the Anteaters and pulled ahead with a 16-13 lead. Despite the push, including aces from Smith and junior outside hitter Kendra Duffey, UCI could not regain control. In a tense finish, CSUN secured the set 25-22, leveling the match at 1-1.
Set 3
UCI responded to the setback in the third set with determination to regain their lead, starting off with a six-point run and establishing a 10-1 advantage. CSUN struggled to keep up as UCI’s offense surged, with sophomore setter Nicole Feliciano strategically setting up MacDonald for multiple precise kills. As the lead widened to 18-6, MacDonald delivered two more kills, pushing her team even closer to victory. UC Irvine dominated the third set, closing it out 25-10, regaining a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set 4
Starting with a strong 7-0 run, UCI capitalized on multiple CSUN errors and aces with graduate student opposite hitter Hunter Riedl. CSUN attempted to regroup but struggled to overcome UCI’s lead, only managing to string together a couple of points at a time. The Anteaters’ front row, led by Smith and MacDonald, consistently shut down CSUN’s offensive attempts. With each swing, MacDonald led the charge, delivering the final kill and bringing her kill count to a career-high 20. Ultimately, UC Irvine finished off the set at 25-19, securing the 3-1 victory for UCI.
UC Irvine will host two matches at the Bren Events Center this weekend, starting with UC San Diego on Nov. 8, followed by Long Beach State on Nov. 9.
Abigail Park is a Sports Intern for the fall 2024 quarter. She can be reached at appark@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Jaheem Conley.