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Women's Volleyball:
UC Irvine Gets Past Cal State Fullerton in Five Sets
Oct. 30, 2008 FULLERTON, Calif. --- UC Irvine took a two-set lead but was pushed five sets before handing Cal State Fullerton a 3-1 (25-23, 25-11, 23-25, 19-25, 15-8) loss Thursday at Titan Gym. The win lifted UCI to .500 at 11-11 overall and 6-3 in the Big West while the Titans dropped to 12-13 (5-5) overall. Lauren Kellerman led the Anteaters with 19 kills and commanded the fifth set, putting away six of nine kills with just one error for a .556 percentage in the deciding frame. Devon Sutherland recorded a season-high 29 digs to lead five Anteaters in double-digit digs. UCI picked up 91 digs to match a season-high for the team. Kari Pestolesi put away 10 kills with 13 digs while Taryn Robertson nearly recorded a triple-double with 50 assists, 18 digs and seven kills. Robertson also was a force at the net as the setter totaled four blocks, including two solo stuffs. Robertson and Shannon Homan led UCI to a 9-4 block advantage with four blocks apiece. Alexandra Filkins recorded a career-high with 14 digs while putting away eight kills. UC Irvine trailed 14-10 in the first set until Kellerman halted a three-point Titan rally with a shot from the back row. Sutherland fired a winner from the baseline to cut the lead to two and the Titans were unable to handle another Sutherland serve as the Anteaters came to within one point at 14-13. A net violation by the Titan middles capped a three-point run for the Anteaters who pulled to a 20-20 tie. UCI reclaimed the lead at 22-21 on a cross-court kill by Pestolesi but a service error by UCI pulled CSF back into a tie. Consecutive kills by Filkins and Homan gave UCI the 24-22 lead and Robertson found Homan on the slide as UCI claimed the first set.
UC Irvine outscored Cal State Fullerton 11-3 to open the second frame with Sutherland firing her second ace of the match to cap the rally. The Anteaters never looked back and led by as many 15 (24-9) on a kill by Filkins and Pestolesi put the ball away on set point for the win. Cal State Fullerton led early in the third set, establishing a 10-6 lead by capitalizing a pair of UCI attack errors. The margin widened to five at 12-7 but UCI rallied with four straight points to pull within one on a kill by Hauser. However, UCI committed two unforced errors to put the Titans up by three at 14-11. UCI would close the gap to one at 18-17 on a kill by Robertson but the put-away by Jennifer Edmonds followed by a Robertson attack error saw CSF lead by three again at 20-17. Trailing 24-22, UCI went to Filkins for the shot down the line but the Anteaters committed a blocking error to give the Titans the winning point. CSF used its momentum in the third set to take an 11-6 lead in the fourth frame on a serve ace by Edmonds. Kellerman answered with a roll shot over the Titan block and the senior delivered again with a service ace as UCI rallied to cut the lead to 13-11. The Titans put together a 6-2 run to open a 19-13 advantage and UCI was unable to answer as Brittany Moore came up with the set-winner with a cross court-shot. The two teams kept the final frame close as the Titans led 8-7 at the side change. UCI wrestled a two-point lead away from the Titans as a key dig by Sutherland led to a Robertson kill. The Titans committed an error on the ensuing play to trail 10-8 and prompted a timeout. Kellerman followed with a shot off the block and Moore's attack went long as UCI commanded a 12-8 edge. Following the Titan's final timeout, it was Kellerman again with a roll shot into the middle of the court for the five-point margin. It would be the Anteaters the rest of the way as Robertson and Hauser provided the key block on Moore to give UCI match point and Kellerman pounded the deep corner for the win. The Anteaters continue Big West action Saturday at Cal State Northridge. |
