UC Irvine Loses to TCU
Nov. 28, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. --- UC Irvine was unable to come back from a 0-2 deficit as the Anteaters fell to TCU, 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23) Saturday at the Pyramid to conclude the regular season. The non-conference loss dropped UCI to 22-8 overall while the Horned Frogs climbed to 26-6 on the season.
Kari Pestolesi led UCI with 22 kills and 18 digs while Larissa Nordyke added nine kills and 13 digs. Taryn Robertson narrowly missed a double-double, posting 49 assists and nine digs while libero Kristin Winkler picked up 16 digs to go along with two aces.
TCU was led by Kourtney Edwards who put away 14 kills while Lauren Otto led all players with 22 digs. Megan Munce handed out 39 assists while posting 12 digs in the winning effort.
The Anteaters held a 16-12 lead in the first set but watched as TCU claimed a 20-19 lead following a five-point run. An attack error by Otto tied the score but Munce connected with Irene Hester on consecutive plays to lead 22-20. Back-to-back UCI attack errors put TCU up 24-20 and the Horned Frogs took the first set on a kill by Christy Hudson.
UCI took a 16-11 lead in the second set but was unable to withstand a TCU rally for the second time as the Horned Frogs outscored the Anteaters 8-2 to take a 20-18 lead. At 22-20 Edwards sandwiched a kill by Hester to give the team a 25-20 win.
In the third set, UCI led 11-6 but TCU would eventually tie the score at 14-14. The Anteaters responded with three straight points and led by as many as four at 21-17 on a kill by Pestolesi. Pestolesi and Alexandra Hauser paired up to send back an attempt by Kristen Hester but TCU sliced the deficit to one at 24-23 before Robertson went to Pestolesi for the game-winning kill.
UCI pulled away from a 14-14 tie in the final set to take a 17-14 advantage TCU caught the Anteaters at 19 apiece. The two teams traded points. Hauser's kill put UCI ahead 23-22 but TCU reeled off three straight to win the match.
