College Roundup: UCI swept

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

Cal State Northridge def. UC Irvine

NORTHRIDGE — Harlee Kekauoha led the Anteaters with 12 kills, but the Matadors won the Big West Conference opener, 25-18, 26-24, 25-20, Friday night at the Matadome.

Victoria Dennis added 10 for UCI (6-7, 0-1 in conference). The Anteaters hit a solid .322 as a team but were unable to hold back a CSUN (2-11, 1-0) offense that mounted a .476 attack. Shelley Anderson pushed out 26 assists to go along with eight digs but UCI’s presence at the net was quiet as the Anteaters managed just one solo block.

The Matadors attacked the Anteaters with an errorless frame in the first, hitting .632 with 12 kills in 19 swings. CSUN took the early 6-3 lead in the first after Mada Dragovic fired an ace and then widened the lead to 11 at 19-8 following an unforced UCI error. The Matadors never looked back, getting a kill from Cieana Stinson to end the set.

CSUN’s hot hand cooled in the second, dropping to a .273 hitting percentage and UCI put together a .375 clip. Both sides kept the contest even and UCI scored four straight on a kill from Ella Rosenfeld and back-to-back errors from Aeryn Owens and Erin Indermill to take a 20-16 lead. However, the Anteaters were unable to hang onto the advantage as CSUN strung together a four-point run to take a 22-21 lead. The two sides traded points but at 24-24, Indermill went to Owens on consecutive plays to grab the second set.

CSUN used its first-set playbook, building an 11-6 lead in the third set by committing just one error in the frame and hitting .594. The Anteaters fell behind by eight points (16-8) despite hitting .400 as a team. CSUN sped to a 20-12 lead on a cross-court kill from Owens but UCI rallied to trim the lead to four at 24-20 following a kill and an ace from Kekauoha. That would be all as Owens forced the ball through the Anteater block to post her 13th kill and complete the sweep.

UCI takes on Long Beach State Saturday night at The Pyramid at 7 on ESPN3.