UC Irvine Tackles TCU to Conclude Regular Season
Nov. 23, 2009
ANTEATERS TAKE ON HORNED FROGS: UC Irvine (22-7, 11-5 Big West) meets TCU Saturday (Nov. 18) at the Pyramid as part of the Long Beach State Thanksgiving Tournament to conclude the regular season. First serve for the Anteaters is 2:30 p.m.
UCI FINISHES TIED FOR SECOND IN BIG WEST: The Anteaters went 1-1 last week, to tie for second in the Big West at 11-5. The second-place mark ties the program's highest finish. UCI was second in the conference in 2008 and 2003.
PIGGOTT RECORDS CAREER-HIGH: Juliane Piggot (Newport Beach/UCLA) totaled a career-high 27 kills against Long Beach State last Saturday. Piggott hit .281 in the effort, adding 15 digs and two blocks. Against Cal State Fullerton, the outside hitter put together a solid all-around match with 11 kills, two aces, 10 digs and three blocks.
Piggott is second on the team with 348 kills and a 3.19 per-set average. She is fourth with 26 aces, 195 digs and 52 blocks.
FILKINS POSTS SEASON-HIGH: Senior Alexandra Filkins (Seal Beach/Valencia HS) recorded a season-high 13 kills and posted her third-best hitting percentage of the season of .478 against Long Beach State. The outside hitter had just two errors in 23 attempts while chipping in two digs and a block assist.
Filkins is averaging 1.14 kills per set and has 64 kills in 56 sets played.
HAUSER TIES FOR SEVENTH IN BLOCK ASSISTS: Alexandra Hauser (Chino Hills/Ayala HS) recorded five block assists in two matches to tie for seventh in the UCI season records with 98 block assists. Hauser needs just two block assists to become the seventh Anteater to reach the 100 blocks. Kristin Kelley totaled 107 in 2006 and currently sits in the No. 6 spot.
Hauser hit .429 in the win against Cal State Fullerton, putting away seven of 14 attempts with just one error. Against Long Beach State, the middle blocker delivered nine kills in 20 swings while picking up two digs. She tops the team with a .346 clip and is fourth with 161 kills and a 1.44 per-set average. Hauser holds the team high with 104 total blocks and is averaging 0.93 per set.
PESTOLESI CLIMBS INTO SEASON RECORDS: Kari Pestolesi (Huntington Beach/Edison HS) recorded three service aces and jumped into the UCI season records at No. 9 with 41 to tie Cindy Rohrig (1983). Pestolesi also climbed into the season records in kills and attempts last weekend. The outside hitter is now 10th with 415 kills and took 96 swings over the weekend to increase her season total to 1,178, overtaking Terbrie Taylor's 2003 total of 1,172. Pestolesi is also sixth in digs with 424, passing Ashlie Hain, who scooped up 419 digs in 2003.
Against Cal State Fullerton, Pestolesi hit .343, posting 16 kills in 35 attempts with four errors while adding 18 digs and a pair of aces. She then recorded a 20-20 match with 20 kills and 21 digs against the Beach, her second such match of the season.
ROBERTSON DEALS CAREER-HIGH: Senior Taryn Robertson (Valencia/HS) recorded a career-high 63 assists last Saturday and totaled 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Against the Titans, the senior hit .500, knocking down seven kills in 12 attempts with one error to go with 36 assists, 10 digs and a pair of block assists.
She currently has 1095 assists on the year and is averaging 10.23 per set. Robertson is sixth on the team with 135 kills and third with 27 aces and 225 digs.
WINKLER MOVES TO FOURTH IN UCI RECORDS: Kristin Winkler (Los Altos/St. Francis HS) continues to have a stellar freshman campaign as the libero has moved into fourth in the UCI single-season dig records. With 464 scoops on the season, Winkler surpasses alumna Devon Sutherland, who posted 454 in 2008.
Winkler recorded 36 digs in two matches last week and is averaging 4.21 per set. She is also second on the team with 28 aces after firing two baseline winners.
TCU TIPS: TCU is 24-6 overall and 13-3 in the Mountain West. The Horned Frogs are currently second in their conference standings. TCU has won 10 of its last 12 matches and faces Long Beach State Friday (Nov. 27) prior to its meeting against UCI Saturday.
The team is led by Kourtney Edwards, who has 354 kills and 113 blocks on the season. Setter Megan Munce tops the team with 1092 assists and 51 aces while Katelyn Blackwood has 474 digs and is averaging 4.31 per set. Kristen Hester has a team-high 19 solo blocks and 103 total blocks.
THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the second between the two teams. UCI last met TCU in 2003 at the Stanford Invitational where UCI recorded a 3-1 win.
UCI IN THE BIG WEST: The Anteaters dropped to second in opponent hitting percentage (.181) and are second in aces (1.40) and digs (16.17). The team climbed up one spot to third in hitting percentage at .241 and is fourth in assists (12.56) and kills (13.54).
Hauser leads the Big West for the third straight week in hitting percentage at .346 while Riley Cropper (Seal Beach/Los Alamitos HS) is sixth at .314. Robertson moved up one spot to fifth in assists (10.23) while Winkler went from fourth to third in digs (4.21). Pestolesi is fourth in kills at 3.81 and third in aces at 0.38. Piggott appeared in the top 10 this week with a 3.19 kill average.
WEEKLY WRAPUP: UC Irvine defeated Cal State Fullerton in straight sets and was led by Pestolesi's 16-kill, 18-dig performance. Piggott and Robertson each added double-doubles with Piggott posting 11 kills and 10 digs and Robertson totaling 36 assists and 10 digs. Hauser topped the team with three block assists to go with seven kills.
The win against the Titans set up a conference title match against Long Beach State at the Pyramid. The Anteaters battled but ultimately fell in five games to the 49ers. Piggott recorded a career-high and led all players with 27 kills while Pestolesi added a 20-20 match with 20 kills and 21 digs. Filkins posted a season-high 13 kills while Robertson handed out a career-best 63 assists while recording 12 digs and two blocks. Winkler had 20 digs in the effort.
