The Beach Gets Bashed

The 6'7"+ Club: Steller, Simmons & Wilson Regulating the Net

UC Irvine Takes Down Long Beach State, 3-1
Anteaters take 9-6 lead in Black & Blue Series

Jan. 23, 2009

Final Stats


LONG BEACH, Calif. – Fifth-ranked UC Irvine had three players with double-digit kills as the Anteaters defeated No. 7 Long Beach State, 3-1 (34-32, 32-30, 28-30, 30-27) Friday night at the Walter Pyramid.

The Anteaters (6-2, 3-1 MPSF) rallied down 27-23 in the first set to knot the score at 28-28. The teams traded points until UCI ended the set scoring three straight on a kills by Ryan Ammerman and Jon Steller and a Long Beach attack error, 34-32.

In the second set, UCI again trailed 21-19 before a Jordan DuFault kill was followed by a Nick Spittle service ace to tie the score at 21 all. The teams would trade points until UCI held a late lead at 27-25, but a service error was followed by a Dean Bittner kill for Long Beach to make the set all square at 27-27. Tied at 30-30, a triple block by Steller, DuFault and Kevin Wynne gave the Anteaters set point. DuFault ended the game with a service ace, 32-30.

Long Beach State (3-3, 2-1 MPSF) won the third set, 30-28 behind a .419 hitting percentage.

In the fourth set, UCI scored three straight on a kill by DuFault, and two consecutive LBSU hitting errors to open a 22-16 cushion. The Anteaters led 29-25 only to watch the Forty-Niners record kills by Jim Baughman and Dan Alexander to close with 29-27, but DuFault ended the match with a kill, 30-27.

Senior Jon Steller led UCI with 19 kills and a season-high six block assists. Outside hitter Jordan DuFault totaled 16 kills, six digs and seven total blocks. Senior Taylor Wilson added 11 kills and five digs, while setter Ryan Ammerman had 43 set assists, six digs and four block assists. Junior Bryan Simmons tied his career-high with eight block assists and sophomore Kevin Wynne had eight kills and six block assists. Libero Brent Asuka led UCI with nine digs.

Dean Bittner paced Long Beach State with 25 kills, three aces and 10 digs. Josh Riley matched a career-high with 14 kills while leading the team with a .522 hitting percentage. Tommy Pestolesi had 15 kills and 14 digs in the loss.

LBSU out-dug UCI, 50-32, but the Anteaters owned the net with an 18-10 advantage.

With a win on the road, UCI gains three points in the Black & Blue Rivalry Series presented by Duke’s of Hungtington Beach. The Anteaters now lead the series 9-6.

UCI will host Princeton Monday (Jan. 26) in a non-conference match at 7:00 p.m. in Crawford Court.