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Women's Volleyball:
UC Irvine Cruises Past Pittsburgh
Sept. 13, 2008 LOS ANGELES, Calif. --- UC Irvine halted its three-match losing streak, with a 25-20, 25-16, 26-24 win over Pittsburgh at the Four Points Sheraton LAX/LMU Volleyball Classic Saturday at Burns Recreation Center. The Anteaters improved to 4-5 overall while Pittsburgh fell to 3-6. Sophomore Kari Pestolesi recorded a match-high 11 kills and added 14 digs for her fourth double-double match of the season. Senior Shannan Homan hit .429, putting away seven of 14 attempts with just one error while leading all players with five block assists, matching a career-high for the middle blocker. Redshirt freshman Alexandra Hauser put in a career-best seven kills with three block assists while Taryn Robertson handed out 29 assists with 10 digs for her third double-double performance of the year. Senior Lauren Kellerman added 11 digs while totaling a .375 hitting clip on offense with eight kills in 16 attempts with two miscues. UC Irvine controlled most of the first set, doubling an early three-point lead to six on a kill by Chelsea Ellis and two Pitt attack errors. A 6-1 run by the Anteaters increased the lead to 10 points at 20-10 with the middles contributing three kills and a pair of blocks. Pitt whittled the lead down to four with a 5-1 run but at 24-20 Hauser slammed a ball down the middle for the set-winner.
A .407 hitting percentage by the Anteaters was the story in the second set. UCI was also effective at the net, holding the Panthers to just .129 as Pitt put away just nine balls in 29 attempts. UCI’s largest lead was nine points at 21-12 and took a 2-0 set lead on a kill by Pestolesi.
Pitt hit .279 in the final set while UCI was held to .176, but it would not be enough for the Panthers. UCI took a 16-12 lead on a bad set by Meagan Dooley to cap a four-point run by the Anteaters. Pitt would battle to catch UCI at 21 points apiece and took a 24-23 lead on a kill by Hannah Swysgood. The Anteaters came out of the timeout and immediately went to Kellerman, who went cross-court for the tying point, and Homan and Ellis denied Amy Town to give UCI match point on the ensuing play. Pestolesi sealed the match with a solo block on Dooley.
The Anteaters take on the host Lions tonight at 7:30 p.m. |
