www.avca.org/CollegiateDetail.asp?id=8697&catid=6UC Irvine Trims BYU 3-2
Anteaters win battle of top two teams as 2,817 fans attend
3/10/2006 -IRVINE, Calif. – The second-ranked UC Irvine men’s volleyball team upset No. 1 BYU in a five game thriller at the Bren Events Center in front of 2,817 fans.
BYU led 10-6 in game five before UCI mounted a monumental comeback using three BYU errors to close within 10-9. Freshman Brent Asuka had a huge dig without any blockers up to keep the ball in play and force the Cougar attack error at 10-9. A UCI service error put the Cougars up 11-9. A kill by Matt Webber followed by two Jayson Jablonsky service aces put the Anteaters ahead 12-11. A Russell Holmes kill knotted the score at 12-12 before an Aaron Harrell kill in the middle and a hitting error by Victor Batista gave UCI a 14-12 advantage. A BYU kill by Yosleyder Cala narrowed UCI’s lead to 14-13 before David Smith put away the match winner 15-13.
UCI was led by Matt Webber with 25 kills. Jayson Jablonsky recorded 17 kills, four service aces and seven digs, while senior Paul Spittle pounded a career-high 16 kills in the win. Spittle also had 10 digs. Setter Brian Thornton recorded 62 assists and a career-best 11 digs. Freshman libero Brent Asuka totaled 11 digs, recording double-digit digs in each of the last seven matches.
The Anteaters out-served the Cougars 10-2 and held a 47-44 dig advantage. BYU controlled the net, out-blocking UCI 19-10.
BYU was paced by Yosleyder Cala, who led all players with 32 kills, a personal best and the fifth highest total in the country this season. He also recorded a career and match-high 14 digs. Ivan Perez added 14 kills, Victor Batista had 13 kills and a career-high 10 blocks assists, while Russell Holmes totaled 10 kills for the Cougars. Setter Rob Neilsen tallied a career-high 71 assists as well as eight digs.
UCI jumped out to a 15-9 lead in game one. The Cougars pulled within 23-20 on a Baptista kill, but the Anteaters would score eight straight to take the comfortable 28-20 lead and go on to a 30-24 victory in the first set.
After a 5-5 tie, BYU controlled game two with UCI closing the score to 29-28 on two Cougar miscues and a Webber kill. Yosleyder ended the game with a kill to even the games at one apiece.
Kills by Jablonsky and Webber combined with a BYU ball handling error tied game three at 24-24. The teams traded points until a pair of kills by Yosleyder gave BYU the 27-25 lead. The teams again traded points until a Cala kill gave the Cougars game point 29-27. Jonathan Charette ended the game with a kill, 30-27 BYU.
Niether team held more than a two point lead in game four until UCI held a 25-22 lead capped by a Spittle kill. BYU would use a Yosleyder kill and an Anteater hitting error to get within 25-24. Following a Webber kill for UCI, Cala had a kill and a service ace to tie the score at 26-26. The teams would trade points before BYU took a 32-31 lead on another Cala kill. Webber and Batista each had a kill for their respective schools before a Yosleyder service error followed by a Charette attacking error gave UCI the 34-33 advantage. Perez would sideout for BYU before Jablonsky drilled a kill to give UCI their sixth game point 35-34. Cala sailed an attack wide giving the Anteaters a 36-34 victory to force game five.
The Anteaters win their 12th in a row and improve to 18-3 overall and 11-2 in Mounatin Pacific Sports Federation play, while BYU goes to 14-3 on the year and 12-3 in league action.
The teams will meet again tomorrow for a 6:00 p.m. match in Crawford Court.
(Story courtesy of UC Irvine sports information office.)
