UC Irvine Idle This Week For Finals
March 16, 2010
UCI IDLE THIS WEEK: 11th-ranked UC Irvine (11-11, 6-9) is idle this week as the team takes final exams. The Anteaters will return to action Mar. 27 when they host UCLA at 7:00 p.m. in the Bren Center.
LOOKING AHEAD: UCI trails UCLA 38-12 in the series records, but have won the last five meetings with the Bruins. All but one of UCI’s wins against UCLA have come under the direction of John Speraw.
UCI took the first meting against the Bruins, 3-1 in Pauley Pavilion. Jordan DuFault recorded 20 kills and Cole Reinholm came off the bench to total 19 kills in the win. Libero Kenny Webster collected a match and career-high 18 digs. UCLA's Jack Polales led all players with 21 kills and had 10 digs. Garrett Muagututia recorded 16 kills followed by Jeremy Casebeer with 11 kills and 12 digs.
IN THE MPSF STATISTICS: UCI ranks second in the MPSF in aces (1.49) and third in hitting percentage (.327) and digs (11.05).
CARROLL SETS CAREER-HIGHS: Sophomore outside hitter Kevin Carroll recorded a career-high 19 kills versus Lewis then bettered that mark with a 29-kill performance against Penn State. Last week, the outside hitter averaged 5.33 kills, 5.67 points and 1.11 digs. On the year, Carroll averages 2.74 kills and 3.25 points per game.
ANTEATERS SPLIT MATCHES LAST WEEK: UCI split a pair of non-conference matches last week, beating No. 15 Lewis, 3-1 then losing to No. 9 Penn State, 2-3. The Anteaters are 0-6 this year in five-game matches. With the win over Lewis, head coach John Speraw picked up his 150th career victory.
WYNNE IN THE MIDDLE: Over the last four matches, middle blocker Kevin Wynne has hit .525 (33-2-59) and averaged 1.94 kills and 0.94 blocks per set. The junior has tallied a season-high 11 kills twice in the last four matches and has not committed an attack error over the last three matches.
STEADY AT THE OUTSIDE: Outside hitter Jordan DuFault has recorded double-digit kills in each of the last 13 matches. The junior averages 4.04 kills and 4.68 points per set overall, which ranks 10th among MPSF players in both categories.
COUNTING ON CLARK: Sophomore opposite Carson Clark leads the team and is third in the MPSF in kills (5.03) and in points (5.72). He leads the team and ranks second in the MPSF in aces with a 0.38 average. He has averaged 2.88 digs over the last 17 sets. Clark has recorded 20 or more kills in 12 matches this year.
UCI STAYS AT NO. 11: UC Irvine stayed at 11th in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. The Anteaters have been ranked in the nation’s top 15 for 86 consecutive weeks.
