No. 5 UCI Men’s Volleyball (16-10, 6-4) was defeated by No. 4 Long Beach State (20-3, 9-1), 3-0, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach on Friday, April 14.
This defeat extended the ‘Eaters’ losing streak to three games. With the Big West Tournament just around the corner, UCI was looking to leverage itself into position for the second seed in the conference.
The ‘Eaters had an uncharacteristically sloppy, sluggish night against the Beach. In particular, starters outside hitter Hilir Henno and junior outside hitter Francesco Sani struggled throughout the entirety of the match. Henno finished the night with 11 kills on 28 swings, along with an ace. Sani closed his night with 7 kills on -0.36% hitting.
The Anteaters looked to end its regular season with a win and momentum heading into the Big West Tournament in a rematch against Long Beach State on April 15. However, the ‘Eaters fell short once again, losing to the Beach for the second time, 3-2.
The first set began with both teams committing serving errors on their opening serves. For the Anteaters, sloppy, sluggish play was the theme of the night. An ace from Long Beach State junior outside hitter Clarke Godbold gave them an early 5-2 advantage, forcing UCI head coach David Kniffin to call a timeout.
The Beach continued to dominate the first set after sophomore outside hitter Sotiris Siapanis sent a monster kill, one of his game high 12 kills, through Anteater territory to extend their lead, 15-11. UCI redshirt junior outside hitter Cole Gillis quickly responded with an emphatic kill, cutting the lead to 12-15.
However, mental errors prevented the ‘Eaters from gaining momentum. An attacking error by Sani rewarded Long Beach State a 20-15 lead. Moments later, a four-touch violation by the Anteaters, along with an ace from Long Beach State junior outside hitter Nathan Harlan, expanded the lead to 23-16, forcing yet another UCI timeout.
One of seven serving errors from Henno awarded Long Beach State a 25-18 victory for the set and a 1-0 match advantage.
The ‘Eaters started off hot in the second set as Gillis dropped an incredible ace in the backline of the Beach defense, establishing a 6-4 lead. Long Beach State answered the Anteaters’ start with a kill from Godbold over the fingertips of the UC Irvine defense, taking a 15-13 lead.
UCI battled back, tying the set at 17-17 after an attacking error from Long Beach State junior opposite Simon Torwie. After a timeout from head coach Alan Knipe, the Beach responded with a 3-1 run, capped off by a soaring kill from Siapanis with an assist from redshirt junior setter Aidan Knipe.
Long Beach State closed the second set with an electric 7-2 run, earning a 25-19 set two victory after a serving error from Sani.
With a 2-0 match advantage for the Beach, the ‘Eaters entered a must-win third set. UCI came out determined, taking an early 8-5 lead on an ace from Gillis through Long Beach State territory. A double block from Henno and junior middle blocker Connor Campbell onTorwie’s kill attempt pushed the Anteater lead to 11-7.
The Beach mounted a 10-4 run, highlighted by a forceful Godbold kill through the heart of the UCI defense, establishing a 17-14 advantage. UCI redshirt junior setter Joe Karlous countered with an excellent pass to set up a kill for Campbell, cutting the deficit to 22-19.
Towards the end of the set, Kniffin decided to bring in junior setter Dylan Zhai to spark the ‘Eaters to a third set victory. Zhai made an immediate impact with an unbelievable backwards falling dig, leading to a Gillis kill and closing the gap, 23-22.
Set three ended with yet another serving error, this time from UCI’s Sani, giving Long Beach State the 25-22 win and 3-0 match victory over the Anteaters.
Donnell Fuller is a Sports Intern for the spring 2023 quarter. He can be reached at ddfuller@uci.edu