Feb. 3, 2010

UCI HOSTS BYU: 11th-ranked UC Irvine (5-6, 1-5) will battle No. 3 BYU Thursday and Friday (Feb. 4-5). Both matches begin at 7:00 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

VERSUS THE OPPONENTS: BYU leads UCI, 33-11 in the series records. The teams split a pair of contests last year in Provo. The Cougars are 6-3 overall and are tied for third in the MPSF with a 4-2 mark.

MATCH-UP WITH THE COUGARS: UCI ranks second in assists (14.93) and hitting percentage (.336) and is third in kills (15.64) and digs (2.93) among MPSF schools. BYU leads the league in blocks (3.50) and digs (11.26).The Cougars rank seventh in kills (15.09). The Anteaters are also ranked third in digs with a 10.50 average.

DUFAULT DOES IT ALL: Outside hitter Jordan DuFault averaged 4.75 points, 4.00 kills, 2.50 digs and 1.00 blocks over two matches in Hawaii.  On the year, the junior averages 4.81 points and 4.21 kills which ranks ninth in the MPSF. He has recorded kills in double-digits in all but two matches this season.

CLARK LEADS: Sophomore opposite Carson Clark leads the team and is second in the MPSF in kills (5.14) and points (5.79). He leads the team and ranks seventh in the MPSF in aces with a 0.36 average. Clark has recorded 20 or more kills in six matches.

AT THE NET: Senior Bryan Simmons leads the team and is third the MPSF with a 1.44 blocking average. The Anteaters have out-blocked the last five opponents.

LOOKING FOR A LEAGUE WIN: UCI has lost their last five MPSF matches. The last time they lost five or matches in a row dates back to 2005 when they dropped seven straight.  After winning four of their first five matches, the Anteaters have lost five of their last six outings.

ANTEATERS FALL TWICE AT HAWAII: After beating Princeton (3-0), the Anteaters lost a pair of 3-2 matches at Hawaii last week.

Each night, UCI dropped the first two games then battled back to win the next two before falling in the fifth set. Both matches lasted over three hours.

In the first match, Carson Clark recorded a career-high 29 kills.  His 29 kills ranks tied for 10^th in the UCI match record books.

In the second match, Jordan DuFault and Clark led the Anteaters with 21 kills. DuFault also topped the squad in digs (13) and blocks (6).

UCI FALLS OUT OF TOP 10: UC Irvine fell to 11th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Anteaters had been ranked in the nation’s top 10 for 79 consecutive weeks, including No. 1 for 21 of those weeks, until this week.