Women's Volleyball:

Oct. 19, 2009

ANTEATERS TACKLE GAUCHOS, MUSTANGS: UC Irvine (16-3, 6-1 Big West) will look to avenge an early season loss to UC Santa Barbara this week as the Anteaters host the Gauchos Friday (Oct. 23) at Crawford Court. UCI then entertains Cal Poly Saturday (Oct. 24). Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.

DIG FOR THE CURE: Head coach Paula Weishoff's Anteater team has dedicated the October 24th match against Cal Poly as a "Dig for the Cure" match, benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Orange County. As part of the campaign, UC Irvine Athletics will be collecting pledges for every dig made by the Anteaters on October 24th. The team will wear pink jerseys and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the game to support the cause. The first 50 fans who pledge to donate will receive a pink "Dig for the Cure" t-shirt. Also available through UCI Athletics' online auction will be a pink jersey signed by the women's volleyball team.

CROPPER ON THIS WEEK'S BLUE AND GOLD: Riley Cropper (Seal Beach/Los Alamitos HS) will be a guest on this week's Blue and Gold Report, UCI Athletics' weekly show highlighting Anteater Athletics. Cropper will be joined by women's basketball coach Molly Goodenbour. The Blue and Gold Report airs weekly at 10:00 a.m. on KUCI 88.9 FM.

UCI IN THE POLLS: The Anteaters jumped two spots again to No. 19 in the AVCA Coaches poll and have been ranked eight consecutive weeks.

ANTEATERS IN THE STANDINGS: UCI claimed sole possession of first place in the Big West race and lead UC Davis (6-2) by game. Sitting third in the league standings is Long Beach State at 5-2 while Pacific is fourth with a 5-3 mark. UC Santa Barbara sits fifth at 4-3 while Cal State Fullerton is sixth at 3-4. Cal State Northridge (2-5), Cal Poly (2-6) and UC Riverside (0-7) round out the conference standings.

ANTEATERS REMAIN UNDEFEATED AT HOME: UC Irvine will look to defend its perfect 7-0 home mark this week against UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly. The last time the Anteaters sported a 7-0 record at Crawford Court was in 2004 when the team opened the season with seven straight home wins. That squad finished with a 14-2 home record en route to making the program's third NCAA postseason appearance.

ROBERTSON REGISTERS SEASON-BEST: Setter Taryn Robertson (Valencia/HS) posted a season-best 55 assists and 14 digs in the five-set win against Long Beach State. Robertson also had two block assists and fired a service ace as the senior extended her streak to seven consecutive matches with at least one ace.

Robertson is second on the team with 23 aces and is averaging 9.87 assists per set while sitting third in digs with 141.

PESTOLESI TIES SEASON-HIGH: Kari Pestolesi (Huntington Beach/Edison HS) tied a season-high with 23 kills to lead UCI against Long Beach State. The junior also recorded her 14th double-double with 19 digs and delivered a pair of baseline winners.

Against UC Riverside, Pestolesi posted a season-best .440 hitting percentage against the Highlanders, committing just two errors in 25 attempts with 13 kills.

ANTEATERS RECORD SEASON-HIGH AGAIN: For the fourth straight week, the Anteaters scooped a season-best in digs, posting 79 against Long Beach State. Pestolesi led the team with 19 while Kristin Winkler (Los Altos/St. Francis HS) chipped in 16. Robertson rounded out the Anteaters in double-digit digs with 14 while Larissa Nordyke (Honolulu, HI/Punahou HS) just missed double-figures with nine. It is UCI's fourth game of 70 digs or more.

UCI also registered a team-high in kills with 67 and assists with 62 against the 49ers. Pestolesi and Juliane Piggott (Newport Beach/UCLA) combined for 42 kills while Robertson topped the team with 55 assists. The team's previous highs were a 64-kill effort in the four-set win against Loyola Marymount and 59 assists against UC Santa Barbara.

PESTOLESI IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Pestolesi combined for four aces over the weekend to take over the No. 9 spot in the UCI career records with 104. The outside hitter, who is averaging 0.41 aces, needs three to tie former Anteater Brooke Witt (1997-2000) for the No. 8 spot with 107. Alumna Kelly Wing (2001-04) is the all-time leader in aces with 172.

CROPPER PUTS UP SEASON'S THIRD BEST PERFORMANCE: Cropper led all players with a .533 hitting percentage against UC Riverside last Saturday. It was the Cropper's third-best performance of the season as the middle blocker converted nine of 15 attempts with just one error. Cropper has recorded two errors or less in 16 of 19 matches this season and hit better than .300 seven times this season in matches with 10 attempts or more. Cropper is fourth in the Big West in hitting and third on the team with 120 kills and a 1.64 average.

ABOUT THE GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara is 14-5 overall and 4-3 in the Big West. The Gauchos split a pair of 3-2 matches last weekend, defeating Pacific but then falling to UC Davis.

The team is led by Rebecca Saraceno, who has 359 kills and is averaging 4.60 kills per set. The 6-2 outside hitter is second with 24 aces and 211 digs. Lily Lopez tops the team with 59 blocks while Dana Vargas is averaging 11.26 assists per set. Chelsey Lowe is the team's dig leader with 290 on the season.

HOW THEY MATCH UP: UCSB edges UCI in kill average, 13.97-13.01. UCSB also is averaging 12.88 assists to UCI's 12.14. However, the Anteaters hold a 14.95-13.69 lead in digs and also top the Gauchos in blocks, 1.90-1.63.

THE SERIES: UC Santa Barbara holds a 60-8 all-time series lead against UCI. The Gauchos wrestled away a 3-2 win from the Anteaters earlier this season at The Thunderdome.

ABOUT CAL POLY: Cal Poly is 6-15 overall and 2-6 in the Big West. The Mustangs have played four straight five-set matches and look to snap a three-match losing streak against UC Riverside prior to facing UCI.

The Mustangs are led by Megan McConnell, who has 239 kills and is averaging 3.10 per set. Alison Mort tops the team with 336 digs while Dominique Olowolafe has a team-high 55 blocks.

THE SERIES: Cal Poly leads 35-16 in the all-time series against UCI. The Anteaters swept the Mustangs earlier this season.

UCI IN THE BIG WEST: UC Irvine holds on to the No. 2 spot in aces at 1.55 and the No. 3 spot in hitting (.238). UCI is also fifth in kills (13.01) and third in digs (14.95). The Anteaters are fifth in assists (12.41) and dropped one spot to seventh in blocks (1.90).

Alexandra Hauser (Seal Beach/Los Alamitos HS) climbed one spot to third in hitting at .331 while Cropper also moved up one spot to fourth with a .327 hitting percentage. Pestolesi went from third to second in aces at 0.41 and is fifth in kills (3.84) and sixth in digs (3.77). Robertson is sixth in assists (9.87) and tied for sixth in aces at 0.32. Kristin Winkler (Los Altos/St. Francis HS) remains eighth in digs at 3.61 and is 10th with a 0.29 ace average.

ANTEATERS IN THE NATION: The Anteaters sport an .842 win-loss percentage and are 14th in the nation. The team is also 56th in hitting percentage, 58th in aces per set and 79th in assists.

Pestolesi is ranked 43rd in aces per set and 47th in points per set at 4.52. The outside hitter is also 63rd in kill average.

WEEKLY WRAPUP: The Anteaters claimed sole possession of first place in the Big West with a 3-2 win over Long Beach State last week. The Anteaters were led by the duo of Pestolesi and Piggott, who combined for 42 of the team's 67 kills. Hauser and Nordyke each added seven kills apiece while Hauser and Piggott led the team at the net, posting three block assists apiece.

UCI's registered its fifth-straight win with a sweep of UC Riverside. Pestolesi led the team with 13 kills while Cropper chipped in nine. Winkler topped all players with 13 digs while Robertson posted 38 assists.

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