Nov. 2, 2009

UCI ENTERTAINS REDHAWKS, MATADORS: UC Irvine (17-6, 7-4 Big West) hosts Seattle in a midweek, non-conference match Tuesday (Nov. 3) and then resumes Big West action against Cal State Northridge Saturday (Nov. 7). Both matches will be played at Crawford Court and are slated to start at 7:00 p.m.

ANTEATERS IN THE STANDINGS: After losing a pair of Big West matches last weekend, the Anteaters slipped to fourth in the conference standings at 7-4. UC Davis is the league leader at 9-2 with UC Santa Barbara sitting second at 8-3. Long Beach State is third with a 7-3 mark while Pacific is fifth in the conference at 6-5. Cal State Fullerton is 4-6 (6th) while Cal State Northridge is a win behind the Titans in seventh (3-6). UC Riverside (2-9) and Cal Poly (2-10) round out the standings at eighth and ninth, respectively.

WINKLER DIGS INTO MATCH RECORDS: Libero Kristin Winkler (Los Altos/St. Francis HS) amassed a career-high 30 digs against Pacific last week, tying the No. 5 spot in the UCI match records. Winkler, who shares the spot with Devon Sutherland (2007), totaled a personal-best for the second straight week, erasing her previous high of 26 digs.

Winkler then added a team-high 17 digs against UC Davis and now tops the team with 357 and a 3.97 average. She also had a pair of service aces and is tied for second on the team with 24.

Winkler needs six scoops to take over the No. 10 spot in the season annals. Former Anteater Alison Bantel totaled 362 digs in 1993.

HAUSER REGISTERS CAREER-HIGH: Alexandra Hauser (Chino Hills/Ayala HS) also recorded a career-high mark for the second consecutive week as the sophomore totaled eight block assists against the Tigers Saturday. Hauser also put away seven of 16 attempts with no errors for a .438 average. Against UC Davis, Hauser tied for the team-high with five blocks and now tops the team with 84 block assists on the season and is three shy of breaking into the UCI season records. Alumna Kris Roberts currently holds the No. 10 spot with 87 block assists.

PESTOLESI, PIGGOTT LEAD ANTEATERS IN KILLS: Kari Pestolesi (Huntington Beach/Edison HS) and Juliane Piggott (Newport Beach/UCLA) led the Anteaters offensively last weekend. Pestolesi pounded 22 kills against the Aggies, hitting .228 for the match to go with two service aces and eight digs.

Pestolesi and Piggott each had 14 kills in the loss to the Tigers. Pestolesi added 10 digs for her 38th double-double of the season while Piggott registered a service ace and chipped in a pair of blocks and three digs in the effort.

Pestolesi tops the team with 339 kills and a 3.85 average. She is also first in aces with 33 and second in digs with 317. Piggott is second in kills with 261 and sits fourth in blocks (43), aces (19) and digs (155).

CROPPER PUT IN ERROR-LESS EFFORT: Riley Cropper (Seal Beach/Alamitos) recorded her fifth match of the season without an error Friday. The junior middle blocker totaled seven kills on 20 attempts for a .350 hitting percentage and was her second straight match without a miscue.

Cropper is hitting .321 to sit second on the team and is third in kills (139) and second in blocks with 55.

PESTOLESI IN THE RECORD BOOKS: Pestolesi's two aces against UC Davis gave the outside hitter 108 on the season, moving her to eighth in the career annals and overtaking Brooks Witt's (1997-2000) four-year total of 107. Alumna Devon Sutherland (2005-08), who is currently playing professionally in Switzerland, is seventh with 115.

Pestolesi also combined for 18 digs in two matches to take over the eighth spot in career digs with 1,014 to surpass Scotleen Risley's mark of 1000 digs, set from 1989-92.

BUMP IN THE ROAD: The Anteaters lost two straight matches for the first time this season and have dropped to 4-5 in road contests. Last season, UCI experienced a similar bump during the conference schedule, losing back-to-back matches against Cal State Fullerton and Pacific but responded by going on a 10-2 tear to finish out the year.

ALL ABOUT SEATTLE: UC Irvine will meet Seattle University for the first time this season Tuesday. The Redhawks are 6-19 overall and snapped a four-match losing streak with a 3-2 win over Montana State before falling to Cal State Bakersfield, 3-1.

Seattle is led by Cristina Richards, who has 307 kills on the season and a 3.49 average. Richards also tops the team with 58 blocks and 21 aces. Emily Deleissegues is the team-leader in digs with 344 while Jamie Mellies paces the team in assists with 749.

ABOUT THE MATADORS: Cal State Northridge is 7-16 overall and 3-6 in the Big West. The Matadors play host to UC Santa Barbara in league action Tuesday prior to traveling to UCI Saturday.

Angela Hupp leads the team with 294 kills and a 3.20 per-game average. She is also second in assists with 223, third in digs with 201 and third in blocks with 79. Tela Burnett owns the team-high in blocks with 95 while Sam Orlandini has 26 aces to lead the team. Monica McFarland has 332 digs and is averaging 3.73 per set to pace the Matadors.

THE SERIES: The two teams are tied at 19-19 in the series records. UCI came away with a 3-1 win against the Matadors earlier in the season.

UCI IN THE BIG WEST: UC Irvine is second in aces (1.45) and third in hitting percentage (.237). The team is also third in digs (15.25), fifth in assists (12.15) and climbed to No. 6 in blocks at 1.96.

Alexandra Hauser (Chino Hills/Ayala HS) moved one spot up to No. 2 in hitting percentage at .344 while Cropper is fifth with a .321 hitting percentage. Pestolesi is fourth in kills (3.85), aces (0.38) and ninth in digs (3.60). Robertson is sixth in assists at 9.84 and 10th in aces at 0.27. Winkler, one of two freshmen in Big West's top 10 in digs, is fifth with a 3.97 average.

ANTEATERS IN THE NATION: The Anteaters are 41st in the country with a .739 win-loss percentage. UCI is 57th in hitting percentage, 74th in aces per set, 86th in assists and 95th in kills.

Pestolesi is ranked 48th in points average (4.49), 64th in kill average and 76th in aces per set.

WEEKLY WRAPUP: The Anteaters went 0-2 on the road last week, falling 3-1 to both UC Davis and Pacific. Pestolesi led the team against the Aggies with 22 kills and two aces while Piggott chipped in nine kills, an ace and tied for the team-high with five block assists as UCI out-blocked UC Davis, 9.5-6. Robertson had 45 assists, eight digs and three blocks while Hauser put up five blocks and six kills.

Pestolesi and Piggott put away 14 kills apiece in the effort against the Tigers with Pestolesi and Larissa Nordyke (Honolulu, HI/Punahou HS) each registering 10 digs. Hauser had another solid effort with seven kills and a career-high eight blocks while Winkler led all players with a personal-best 30 digs. Robertson handed out 40 assists to go along with five kills, six digs and three blocks.