Eaters Sweep the Trojans

Cory Yoder led UCI with 14 kills

UC Irvine Offensive Attack Dominates In 3-0 Sweep of USC
National Championship Banner Unveiled

Feb. 8, 2008

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Irvine, Calif. - No. 8 UC Irvine hit .500 as a team as the Anteaters swept No. 11 USC, 3-0 (30-28, 30-26, 30-22) in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match Friday at the Bren Center.

The Anteaters improve to 8-6 overall and 5-4 in the MPSF on the night that 2007 National Championship banner was unveiled at the Bren. USC falls to 6-7 overall and 5-5 in league action.

As a team, UCI hit a season-high .500 (47-7-80) for the match and out-blocked the Trojans, 9-0.

Freshman outside hitter Cory Yoder led UCI with 14 kills, hitting .542 (14-1-24), adding an ace and three blocks. Junior opposite Jon Steller ended the night with 13 kills, hitting .524 (13-2-21) and firing two aces. Senior middle blocker Aaron Harrell hit .636 on seven kills with no errors on 11 attempts and two blocks. Freshman Kevin Carroll also had seven kills, hitting .417 (7-2-12) for the match. Junior setter Ryan Ammerman dished a career-high 44 assists with five digs and three blocks. Freshman middle blocker Kevin Wynne hit .556 (6-1-9) and led all players with five blocks. Junior libero Brent Asuka tallied seven digs in the win.

Juan Figueroa was the only USC player in double-figures with 16 kills. Murphy Troy added nine kills, while libero Luke Morris had a team-high six digs. Senior Jimmy Killian recorded 32 set assists in the loss.

UCI led 9-4 in game one and continued to lead 29-26 before the Trojans scored two unanswered to narrow the lead to 29-28. The run was halted when a USC service error ended the game, 30-28.

The Anteaters started game two on a 5-1 spurt, before USC rallied to knot the score at 7-7. The game was closely contested after that point with never more than a two-point lead. With the score tied 25-25, UCI recorded two kills by Jon Steller followed by a Trojan hitting error to give the Anteaters a 28-25 cushion. Aaron Harrell would end the game, 30-26 on a service ace.

UCI scored four straight to take a 13-9 lead in game three and never looked back as they cruised to the 30-22 victory.

UCI will entertain No. 1 BYU next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 15 & 16) in the Bren Center at 7:00 p.m.