Eaters Blank the Buckeyes

Mac Waite Sealing the Deal in Game 1


Steller Enters UCI Record Book in 3-0 Victory Over Ohio State

The opposite fires a match record six service aces
Final Stats

Irvine, Calif. - Junior Jon Steller tied the UC Irvine match record with six aces as the 10th-ranked Anteaters defeated No. 10 Ohio State 3-0 (30-23, 30-25, 30-13) in a non-conference match at the Bren Center Friday.

Steller shares the top spot in the UCI match record book with Matt Webber (2004), Mike Rupp (1999) and Jarrett Jensen who recorded six aces twice in 2002. The opposite fired four of his career-high six aces in game three.

Steller led the Anteaters with 14 kills along with freshman Cory Yoder who also posted 14 kills in the win. Yoder hit .545 (14-2-22) for the match. Senior Aaron Harrell and sophomore Cole Reinholm each added seven kills with Reinholm totaling a match-high seven digs. Setter Ryan Ammerman tallied three kills and 41 set assists. Junior Mac Waite hit .600 adding three kills on five attempts without an error.

Ohio State was led by Brett Versen and Robbie Klein with 10 kills a piece. Kevin Heine recorded a match-high six block assists as the Buckeyes out-blocked UCI, 9.0-2.0.

UCI's offense ran at a .455 (51-11-88) clip for the match, while Ohio State hit just .188 (32-17-80).

UCI jumped out to a 10-3 lead in game one and never looked back as they took the set, 30-23 behind eight kills from Cory Yoder.

The Anteaters opened an 8-4 advantage in game two and continued to lead at 28-21. The Buckeyes then scored four unanswered to narrow the deficit to 28-24, but out of a UCI timeout Yoder put away a kill to set up game point. Following a UCI service error, Cole Reinholm pounded a kill to end the game, 30-25. Steller had eight kills and two aces in the frame.

Steller's serving was ignited in game three, rocketing four aces in a 6-0 run to give UCI a 26-12 lead. The Anteaters would out-score the Buckeyes 4-1 to end the game, 30-13 and the match, 3-0. The 17-point win is the largest margin of victory by an MPSF team this season.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow (Mar. 1) at 2:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.