After dominating back-to-back sweeps at the Bren Events Center, No. 5 UC Irvine (13-4, 0-2 Big West) continued its winning streak on the road. The Anteaters secured another sweep, taking down Daemen University (9-6, 0-0 NEC) with commanding scores of 25-18, 25-18 and 25-14 at George Mason’s Recreation Athletics Complex in Fairfax, Va., on March 21.
Set 1
Daemen came out strong at the start, scoring two kills to get on the board. A bad set and a powerful kill by senior outside hitter Hilir Henno quickly evened the score at 2-2. Both teams struggled with service errors, resulting in a slow but steady climb. Henno struck again to tie the score at 6-6, but Irvine’s service error and bad set gave Daemen a brief 8-6 lead. Taking advantage of UCI’s attack and service errors, Daemen extended its lead to 12-9.
The ‘Eaters responded with a fierce four-point run fueled by Henno and senior outside hitter Nolan Flexen, tying the score at 13-13 after a single Daemen kill. Irvine then surged ahead with another four-point streak led by freshman middle blocker Micah Goss and Henno, shifting the momentum in its favor at 17-13. Despite trading points a few times, Irvine maintained its edge at 19-16.
The ‘Eaters sealed the set with a final dominating run, as junior opposite William D’Arcy and Henno combined forces to push the score to 23-16. Following quick service errors from both teams, a Daemen attack error secured UC Irvine a commanding 25-18 set victory and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set 2
The ‘Eaters jumped to an early 4-0 lead as Henno, D’Arcy and junior middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev teamed up to dominate the opening points. Daemen countered with a kill, but Grigoriev quickly responded with a kill of his own, setting up Flexen for back-to-back kills and extending Irvine’s lead to a comfortable 7-2. Despite a series of service errors from both teams, Irvine maintained its advantage at 10-5.
Points continued to trade, but a decisive kill by Flexen followed by another from Goss pushed Irvine ahead to 15-7. Though Irvine committed a few errors, including an attack error and a bad set, Daemen’s own service and attack errors kept the score in Irvine’s favor at 20-12.
Irvine turned up the heat as D’Arcy contributed two back-to-back kills, solidifying its lead at 23-15. Daemen managed a late rally with two kills and an Irvine service error, narrowing the gap slightly. However, Goss delivered the set-winning kill, closing it out 25-18 and giving the ‘Eaters a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set 3
The teams battled closely in the opening moments, tying four times as Henno, Flexen and D’Arcy added crucial points for the ‘Eaters. Despite two service errors that leveled the score, Daemen committed its own service and attack errors, giving Irvine a 7-5 edge. An attack error from both sides widened the lead to 10-7.
Henno’s service ace sparked a strong four-point run for UC Irvine, with Grigoriev delivering two service aces to push the score to 15-8. A fast kill by D’Arcy, paired with Daemen’s service and attack errors, extended the ‘Eaters’ lead to 18-10. Both teams exchanged points briefly before Flexen and Henno tallied a kill each, bringing the score to 21-12.
After an Irvine service error, D’Arcy powered through with two kills, and Henno capped off the set with a service error followed by the final kill, sealing the 25-14 victory and a 3-0 sweep.
UC Irvine’s dominance carried on as it completed another 3-0 sweep on March 22 against George Mason. Looking ahead to Big West conference play, No. 5 UC Irvine will take on No. 1 Long Beach State University on Friday, March 28, at the Walter Pyramid.
Abigail Park is a Sports Staff Writer. She can be reached at appark@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Jaheem Conley