By james art UC Irvine Women’s Volleyball (13-9, 7-4) comfortably handled Cal State Bakersfield (10-13, 4-7), 3-1, at the Icardo Center in Bakersfield, Calif. on Nov. 1.
Coming off a win against UC Riverside on Oct. 26, the Anteaters continued their momentum against a struggling Bakersfield team that had lost four of its last five games entering this game.
Although Irvine was the favorite, the Roadrunners took a 7-4 lead in the first set. After exchanging kills, UCI pulled away with four straight points, capitalized by two service aces from junior libero Campbell Jensen, making it 11-9.
From that point on, the Eaters controlled the set. Their dominance came through their efficient offense, with Irvine totaling 16 kills to Bakersfield’s eight. The set ended with back-to-back kills from alumnus middle blocker Ella Gardiner, ending the set 25-17.
The second set proved to be more competitive as the momentum shifted between the two teams. Much like the first set, Cal State Bakersfield took an early lead. Seven straight points, with three coming via service aces by Bakersfield sophomore Nene Hawkins, gave them an 8-2 lead. Irvine responded by scoring five of the next six points, with two kills by Gardiner.
However, the Roadrunners continued to take advantage of Irvine’s poor hitting and took a 24-20 lead, just one point away from winning the set. UCI then rallied behind two kills by junior outside hitter Kendra McDonald and two attacking errors by CSUB sophomore outside hitter Sydney Dunning to tie the set at 24 apiece. Since then, the sides have traded blows. UCI sophomore/right Nicole Feliciano won a layup to tie the set at 29. However, Bakersfield rallied back-to-back kills from Dunning and senior outside hitter Paige Duggan to win a thrilling set, 31-29.
Tied 1-1, the third set provided the momentum that carried Irvine to victory. While the set started fairly evenly, UCI eventually pulled away. The Anteaters jumped out to a 9-7 lead early, but three straight kills by CSUB junior right side Druegan Davis and senior middle blocker Samia Bhakta, who recorded two in a row, gave Bakersfield a 10-9 lead.
The Eaters responded by scoring eight of the next nine points with some help from four straight hitting errors and a serving error by Cal State Bakersfield, making it 17-11 in favor of UCI. That proved to be too much for Bakersfield to overcome as Irvine cruised to a 25-16 third set victory.
CSUB’s sloppy play was evident in the field score. While Irvine had a .265 hitting percentage in the set, Bakersfield managed just .051 — a big reason for the loss.
As the Anteaters looked to close out the match in the fourth set, Cal State Bakersfield sensed the urgency and jumped out to an early lead, 10-5. However, Irvine came back, scoring 14 of the next 17 points to extend its lead, 19-13. During the run, graduate outside hitter Katie Smith and graduate opposite/outside hitter Hunter Riddle each had two kills.
A UCI victory seemed inevitable as their lead grew to 22-16 on two kills from Gardiner. Bakersfield wouldn’t roll over though, reeling off four straight points to close the gap, 22-20. However, UCI kept their cool, scoring three straight points to take the set 25-20 and the match 3-1. Of the final three points, two were attack errors by CSUB’s Dugan.
Irvine’s Gardiner led the way with 16 kills as Feliciano grabbed a game-leading 41 assists to help the Anteaters to their victory. Bakersfield’s Dunning led the game with four total blocks.
The Anteaters won their third straight at Northridge against CSUN (8-15, 3-9), 3-1, on Nov. 2, adding another Big West Conference victory to their record.
UC Irvine will face UC San Diego next on Nov. 8 at the Bren Events Center.
Jordan Humm is the sports intern for the fall quarter of 2024. He can be reached at [email protected].
Edited by Benjamin Flores, Jack Fedor and Mia Noergaard.