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Women's Volleyball:
UC Irvine Sweeps Cal State Fullerton
Nov. 20, 2009 IRVINE, Calif. --- Playing in front of its largest home crowd of 1,035, UC Irvine extended its win streak to five matches with a 29-27, 25-20, 25-19 win over Cal State Fullerton Friday at the Bren Events Center. The victory lifts the Anteaters to 11-4 in conference play (22-6 overall) and sets up a showdown for the Big West title tomorrow against Long Beach State (11-4) at the Pyramid at 7:00 p.m. Kari Pestolesi led all players with 16 kills and committed just four errors in 35 attempts for a .343 hitting percentage. The outside hitter also had 18 digs to go with two service aces. Juliane Piggott also reached double-digit kills for UCI, recording 11 kills and hitting .229 (11-3-35) while posting 10 digs and two aces. The junior had two solo stuffs and a block assist for a solid all-around performance. Alexandra Hauser led the team with three block assists to go along with seven kills, hitting .429 (7-1-14) on the night. Setter Taryn Robertson posted a double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs and hit .500 (7-1-12) while putting up two block assists. Cal State Fullerton (16-12, 7-8 Big West) was led by Kayla Neto, who had 10 kills and two aces while Cami Croteau recorded a match-high 21 digs. Andrea Ragan topped the team with 37 assists.
A service ace by Neto highlighted a three-point run by Cal State Fullerton as the Titans took an 11-8 lead over the Anteaters in set No. 1. UCI quickly responded and tied the set at 12 points apiece on an ace by Pestolesi. CSF slipped ahead at 15-13 on a kill by Erin Saddler but UCI scored three straight and took a 16-15 lead on a line shot by Piggott. The two teams tied the set five times until at 20-20, UCI used a 4-1 run to take a 24-21 lead as Piggott tucked a shot inside the back line for set point. CSF rallied, knotting the score 24 points apiece on a kill by Saddler. The teams battled until Neto's service error gave UCI a 28-27 edge and Robertson connected with Pestolesi to seal the frame.
Neither side could establish a comfortable lead in the second set as the teams shared 14 ties and six lead changes. At 19-19, Pestolesi and Piggott put away back-to-back kills to force a Titan timeout at 21-19. Piggott knocked down a kill on the ensuing play for a three-point advantage. Robertson found Riley Cropper on the slide for set point and Robertson took care of the rest with a dump in the middle of the court for the winning point. In the final set, Cal State Fullerton turned a 9-9 tie into a 13-10 lead, outscoring UCI 4-1. However, a pair of two-point plays by the Anteaters tied the score at 15-15 as Hauser and Nordyke sent back a Jonny Hart attempt. Hart rebounded with a kill and CSF claimed a 17-15 lead on a UCI error. Trailing 18-17, an Anteater kill sparked a six-point UCI run (23-18), capped by a Pestolesi ace. Cropper and Robertson paired up for the block on Saddler to give UCI the win at 25-19. UCI travels to Long Beach State Saturday (Nov. 21) at 7:00 p.m. |
