Tritons Swept in Match & for 2009 Season

Block Leads No. 2 UC Irvine to Sweep of No. 12 UC San Diego
Anteaters out-block Tritons 15.5-2

Feb. 25, 2009

Final Stats


LaJolla, Calif. – Second-ranked UC Irvine out-blocked No. 12 UC San Diego, 15.5 to 2 on their way to a 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-24) victory at the RIMAC Arena Wednesday.

UCI (13-3, 9-2) dominated the net and held the Tritons (6-9, 2-8) to a .144 hitting percentage. The Anteaters, who hit .418, had the best blocking margin (13.5) of the year.

UCI led 6-5 in the first set then scored three straight on two Triton miscues and a kill by Taylor Wilson to go up 9-5. The Anteaters continued to lead, 20-14 only to watch UCSD score five unanswered to close within 20-19. A kill by Austin D’Amore stopped the streak and the Anteaters outscored the Tritons 10-6 to end the set, 30-25 on a Cory Yoder kill. Jon Steller led all players with eight kills, hitting .800 (8-0-10).

With the teams tied at 13 all in the second set, UCI used a kill by Jordan DuFault followed by three consecutive blocks by DuFault and Kevin Wynne to take the 17-13 advantage. The Tritons were down 20-16 and rallied on a 6-2
run to tie the set at 22-22. The teams would trade points until a kill by Steller was followed by a block by Jordan DuFault to give the Anteaters a 25-23 cushion. San Diego rallied once more to knot the score at 27-27. Another Yoder kill was followed by a UCSD attack error, 29-27. A kill by Jason Spangler delayed set point until Steller recorded a kill, 30-28.

In the third set UCI jumped out to an 8-2 lead which included two kills, a block and a service ace by D’Amore. UC San Diego could get no closer than two the rest of the way as UCI took the set 30-24 and the match 3-0.

Jon Steller led the Anteaters with 12 kills, hitting .600 without an attack error (12-0-20) from the right side. Jordan DuFault hit .615 (9-1-13), recording nine kills and a career-high nine total blocks, including a career high eight block assists. Outside hitter Cory Yoder recorded nine kills, while setter Ryan Ammerman tallied 39 set assists. Middle blockers Kevin Wynne and Austin D’Amore owned the net with seven and six blocks, respectively. D’Amore had six kills while Wynne totaled four. Libero Brent Asuka had a match-best eight digs.

Frank Fritsch had 11 kills while Will Ehrman added 10 for the Tritons. Phil Bannan recorded 39 set assists and shared the team lead in digs with six along with Eric Lesserman.

UCI returns home to host No. 6 Long Beach State Friday (Feb. 27) at 7:00p.m. in the Bren Events Center.

Waves Outblock & Outlast the Eaters

http://ucirvinesports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/recaps/022109aaa.html

No. 3 Pepperdine Tops No. 2 UC Irvine, 3-1
Jon Steller pounds career-high 32 kills

Feb. 20, 2009

Final Stats

Malibu, Calif. – Paul Carroll put away a nation’s best 37 kills as No. 3 Pepperdine beat No. 2 UC Irvine, 3-1 (27-30, 30-27, 39-37, 30-26) at Firestone Fieldhouse Friday.

Carroll put away 37 kills which ties his career-high while hitting .462 (37-7-65). He also had a team-high 16 digs. The Waves out-blocked UCI, 21 to 7.5, the most blocks against the Anteaters this season and second fewest for UCI this year. UCI was its own worst enemy with 24 service errors.

Pepperdine’s block dominated the beginning of the first set and helped the Waves jump out to a 6-0 start. Pepperdine had built a 13-6 lead, before UCI climbed back into the game with a 9-2 run to tie the score at 15-15. UCI would score the next five behind the strength of Kevin Wynne’s serving which included an ace, 20-15. Pepperdine would not get closer than two the rest of the set as UCI won 30-27. The first set was not an offensive showcase by the top two hitting teams in the MPSF as UCI hit -.021 and Pepperdine hit -.073. The Waves had 8.5 blocks.

With the score tied at 22-22 in the second set, Pepperdine used one of UCI’s nine service errors followed by two Carroll kills to open a 25-22 advantage. UCI would close to 28-26 on a Jon Steller kill but another Anteater service error gave the Waves set point 29-26. A kill by Bryan Simmons delayed the set as Pepperdine won 30-27 on a block.

In a marathon set three, Pepperdine held off six UCI set points to claim the 39-37 victory. The 39-37 score ties UCI’s fourth set versus USC for the longest set in the MPSF this season. The Waves used a kill by Carroll, an Anteater attack error and a kill by Cory Reicks to win the set.

In the fourth set, the Waves led 25-24 then used an Irvine service error, a kill by Matt McKee and a block to take the 27-24 lead. Rodnei Santos would end the set and match with a kill 30-26.

Rodnei Santos followed Carroll with 12 kills and a match-high 13 block assists. Kasey Crider had 61 set assists and 13 digs for the Waves.

For UCI, opposite Jon Steller had a career-high 32 kills. Middle blocker Kevin Wynne was the only other Anteater in double-digit kills with 10. Setter Ryan Ammerman had a career-high 64 set assists and libero Brent Asuka had a season-high 19 digs.

UCI snaps an eight-match winning streak and goes to 12-3 overall and 8-2 in MPSF play. Pepperdine improves to 9-1 and moves ahead of the Anteaters on the top of the MPSF standings with an 8-1 record.

Match Notes vs. USC

First of all, if you went to the USC link for video and audio for tonight's match, you were not imagining that I was on the broadcast link with Mark Shore of USC! The funny thing is the SID for USC Tim said that his color/game analyst was not showing up for his play-by-play broadcaster. He approached me and asked me if I wanted to jump into the broadcast and I figured, "Why not?". In any case, when USC Coach Bill Ferguson saw me next to him he smiled and reminded me that we were on USC's radio/video as we shared a laugh! There were quite a few 'Eater fans there tonight-- even the alumni parents like Rick & Nancy Smith and the Jablonsky clan. It's always good to see old faces (no-- not their age).

SC came out to play tonight-- that's for sure. Murphy Troy and Tony Ciarelli a pretty powerful 1-2 combo for the Trojans. McKibben ran a pretty good offense and the best hitting team in the MPSF backed it up with the stats out-hitting Irvine 82K for .314 vs. 64K for .301. The MHs, Current and Zahn seemed unstoppable in the 1st and 2nd sets opening it up at the outside for Ciarelli. Troy couldn't get it going on until late in the 2nd-- he was subbed out in the 1st with Stevens. Luke Morris (L) stepped in and tooks some BBs in the back from from OPPs Clark & Steller throughout the entire match.

SC came up short due to service errors (29 vs. 22 for Irvine), some inconsistent and untimely passing by Troy and an extremely determined trio of Steller (who came off the bench in the 3rd for Clark), Wilson and Cole Reinholm (who also came off the bench). Austin D'Amore came in for Simmons and was integral to fortifying the 'Eater block. It seemed like Troy was going to have a hay day at the outside until he came in.

In the 4th, Irvine had at least 3 match points but couldn't seal the deal. There was a crucial call that would have tied it at 38-38 that Steller hit from the right side that was hit wide, but the officials called it wide. From the video replay it looked like Steller got the block, but I don't blame them-- it was a tough one to see.

In the 5th it was all about Wilson, Steller and Reinholm. Reinholm was particularly impressive tonight because of his passing AND his ability to get timely kill for point to keep the cushion for the rest of the 5th.

Trojans Taken Down

http://ucirvinesports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/recaps/021909aab.html

UC Irvine Outlasts USC, 3-2
Wilson and Steller lead Anteaters

Feb. 18, 2009

Boxscore

Los Angeles, Calif. – Senior Jon Steller got 14 kills off the bench to spark the No. 2-ranked UC Irvine men's volleyball team to a 30-25, 23-30, 30-25, 37-39, 15-11 win over No. 5 USC in the Galen Center in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match Wednesday.

In posting its ninth consecutive win over the Trojans, UC Irvine improved to 12-2 overall and maintained its hold on first place in the MPSF at 8-1 in league play. USC dropped to 9-3 overall and 6-2 in the MPSF.

For the Anteaters, Taylor Wilson had 19 kills while hitting .366 and added 6 blocks, while Carson Clark had 13 kills (hitting .500) and six digs. Steller played the final three sets recording 14 kills and two service aces. Libero Brent Asuka had nine digs, while middle blocker Austin D'Amore had six blocks off the bench and Kevin Wynne served a career-high five aces. Setter Ryan Ammerman tallied 60 set assists and seven digs in the victory.

Four Trojans were in double figures kills led by Murphy Troy’s match-high had 29. Tony Ciarelli had 17 (hitting .364) with seven digs and four blocks, while Austin Zahn recorded 13 kills while hitting .611 and Hunter Current had 10 kills and four blocks. Libero Luke Morris added a match-high 13 digs.

Both teams hit over .300, with USC at .314 and UCI at .301. The Anteaters had 10.5 blocks to the Trojans' 9.5. UCI served 10 aces to go along with 22 serving errors, while USC recorded 5 aces but had 29 serving errors.

The Anteaters broke open the first set with a 5-0 run to take 22-15 lead. The run was sparked by a kill by Taylor Wilson and a service aces by Kevin Wynne. UCI would win the set 30-25. The Anteaters hit at a .500 clip (13-124) with just one hitting error.

The second set was all Trojans as USC jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never looked back winning 30-23. UCI hit a .207 (11-5-29) while USC hit .593 (18-2-27).

UCI came on strong at the end of the third set, scoring three straight on a Trojan service error and kills by Cole Reinholm and Jon Steller to go up 28-24. Steller would end the set 30-25 with a kill.

After USC overcame a 7-2 deficit in the fourth set, the Trojans caught up at 10-10 and then the set seesawed throughout until a Zahn kill and a UCI hitting error ended it, 39-37.

UC Irvine built a 7-3 edge in the fifth set and USC could never get closer than 2 points as Steller ended the match with a kill.

UC Irvine Release 2/16/09

http://ucirvinesports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/spec-rel/021609aaa.html

No. 2 UC Irvine Battles No. 5 USC and No. 3 Pepperdine On The Road

Important MPSF Showdowns for Anteaters this week

Feb. 16, 2009

UC IRVINE TRAVELS TO USC; PEPPERDINE: Second-ranked UC Irvine (11-2, 7-1) will travel to No. 5 USC Wednesday (Feb. 18) at 7:00 p.m. in the Galen Center then heads to No. 3 Pepperdine Friday (Feb. 20) at 7:00 p.m. in Firestone Fieldhouse.

BIG MATCH-UPS THIS WEEK: UCI leads the MPSF with a 7-1 record and will face 6-1 Pepperdine and 6-1 USC on the road.

VS THE OPPONENTS: UCI holds an 18-17 lead in the series records with USC, capturing the last eight outings. The Trojans are 9-2 overall, winning their last four matches. USC’s only two losses were to No. 1 Penn State and No. 2 Pepperdine.

Pepperdine owns a 36-9 advantage in the series records, but UCI has won the last three meetings. The Waves are 7-1 overall, suffering their first loss of the year at Stanford, 3-1, last week. Pepperdine will host UCLA Wednesday before entertaining the Anteaters.

ON THE RECORD: The Anteaters’ 11 wins are the most by an MPSF school this year. UCI, who leads the MPSF, has won seven consecutive matches and 10 of their last 11 contests.

FAST START: UCI’s 11-2 record is tied for the second best start in school history. The 2007 squad also began the year 11-2, while John Speraw’s first team in 2003 started the season 12-1.

IN THE RANKINGS: UC Irvine moved up to No. 2 in the Bison/AVCA Coaches Poll. The Anteaters have been ranked in the nation’s top 10 for 58 consecutive weeks.

DIGGING MACHINE: Libero Brent Asuka recorded a season-high 18 digs in the win over UC Santa Barbara. His 18 digs are the fourth most in the country this season. The senior has averaged 13 digs over the last three matches and is averaging 2.50 per set overall.

WYNNE IN THE MIDDLE: Sophomore Kevin Wynne recorded a career-high 14 kills while hitting .650 (14-1-20) in the victory over UC Santa Barbara last week. The middle blocker also added seven total blocks. For the year, Wynne is averaging 1.90 kills and 1.40 blocks per set.

ANTEATERS SLIP PAST UC SANTA BARBARA: UCI needed five games to defeat No. 12 UC Santa Barbara at home in the lone match of the week.

Sophomore Jordan DuFault had 15 kills to led a quartet of Anteaters with double figure kills. DuFault also had 12 digs in the victory. Jon Steller and Kevin Wynne each added 14 kills, a career-high for Wynne who hit .650 (14-1-20) in the middle. Taylor Wilson added 13 kills, while libero Brent Asuka had a season-high 18 digs in the win.

Slippin' Past Santa Barbara

Brent Asuka

Story @ http://ucirvinesports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/recaps/021209aaa.html

UC Irvine Slips Past UC Santa Barbara, 3-2
Wynne recordeds career-high 14 kills; Asuka has season-high 18 digs

Feb. 11, 2009

Final Stats

Irvine, Calif. – Third-ranked UC Irvine needed to go the distance to escape with a win over No. 12 UC Santa Barbara, 3-2 (30-28, 27-30, 30-32, 31-29, 15-12) at the Bren Events Center Wednesday.

Defense was key as UC Santa Barbara recorded 62 digs for the match behind Mike Runkle’s match-high 22. UCI started slow at the net, but ended the night out-blocking the Gauchos, 18.5 to 14.5.

UC Irvine had a balanced attack with Jordan DuFault leading the Anteaters with a double-double, 15 kills and 12 digs. Jon Steller and Kevin Wynne each added 14 kills, a career-high for Wynne who hit .650 (14-1-20) in the middle. Taylor Wilson added 13 kills, while libero Brent Asuka had a seasn-high 18 digs in the win. Setters Ryan Ammerman and Anthony Spittle tallied 38 and 27 set assists, respectively with Ammerman recording seven digs. Freshman Austin D’Amore tied his career-best with seven block assist to lead UCI with eight total blocks followed by Wynne with seven total blocks.

UC Santa Barbara’s Jeff Menzel led all players with 27 kills. Cullen Irons had 15 kills and 11 digs, while Scott Slaughter recorded 12 kills and a match-high 10 total blocks. Setter Vince Devany recorded 69 set assists and 12 digs in the loss.

UCSB jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the first set before UCI rallied behind the serving of Bryan Simmons to take a 10-9 advantage on a Jordan DuFault kill. UCI continued to lead 21-17 before UCSB went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 22-22. UCI would use a kill by Jon Steller and a Gauchos attack error to go up 29-27. Following a kill by Sam Moisenco, Steller ended the set with a kill, 30-28. Taylor Wilson paced UCI with six kills, while Steller added five.

UCSB used an Anteater attack error and a kill by Cullen Irons to take a 22-20 advantage in the second set and would never trail again. Jeff Menzel put away eight kills to lead the Gauchos to the 30-27 victory.

The Gauchos held the 23-20 lead in the third set before UCI knotted the score at 24-24 on a Austin D’Amore kill. The teams traded points until UCSB stuffed two consecutive Anteater attack attempts to take the set, 32-30.

UC Santa Barbara opened a small 20-18 cushion on a Jake Rosener kill in the fourth set. The Anteaters came back to tie the set at 21-21 on a kill by DuFault and a block by Carson Clark and Kevin Wynne. With the score tied 29-29, a UCSB service error was followed by another block by D’Amore and Clark to force the fifth set, 31-29.

UCI scored the last three points on the fifth set on a kill by Taylor Wilson, a block by D’Amore and Wilson and a Gaucho attack that sailed wide, 15-12.

The Anteaters improve to 11-2 overall and 7-1 in the MPSF, while UCSB falls to 3-8 on the year and 1-7 in MPSF play. UCI will return to action next Wednesday (Feb. 18), traveling to No. 4 USC for a 7:00 p.m. first serve at the Galen Center.

UC Irvine Keeps Pace at the Top of the MPSF

http://mpsports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/spec-rel/021009aaa.html

UC Irvine Keeps Pace at the Top of the MPSF
UC Irvine became the first team to win six MPSF matches, picking up wins over Stanford and Pacific.

USC's Murphy Troy earned MPSF player of the week honors.
Feb. 9, 2009

UC IRVINE (6-1 MPSF, 10-2 overall) won two home matches this past week, 3-0 over No. 6 Stanford and 3-1 over Pacific. Freshman Carson Clark tallied 23 kills (.588) and five blocks and Taylor Wilson picked up a 16-kill (.500) and six-block night vs. the Tigers. The Anteaters, first to six MPSF wins, host UC Santa Barbara Wednesday (Feb. 11) in the week's only match.

Tigers Caged by 'Eaters

Cole Reinholm
No. 3 UC Irvine Wins Sixth Straight With 3-1 Victory over Pacific

Four Anteaters record double-digit kills

Feb. 7, 2009

Final Stats

Irvine, Calif. – Third-ranked UC Irvine defeated Pacific, 3-1 (30-21, 30-17, 28-30, 30-24) at Crawford Court Saturday.

UCI won its sixth straight match and improves to 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Pacific falls to 2-10 on the year and 0-7 in the MPSF.

UCI jumped out to a 9-4 leads in the first two sets and cruised to a 2-0 lead. In the third set, UCI led 22-18 before the Tigers rallied to tie the score at 23-23 on a kill by Jason Borchin. The teams traded points until Pacific scored three unanswered on a Borchin ace and two Anteater attack errors to take the 29-26 lead. Kills by Carson Clark and Austin D’Amore narrowed the margin to 29-28 before a Jeff Hendershot kill ended the set 30-28 for the Tigers.

In the fourth set, UCI peeled off five straight points on an ace from Austin D’Amore and kills by Cole Reinholm and Bryan Simmons as well as a pair from Clark to build a 15-10 advantage. The Tigers would get no closer than three the rest of the way as UCI won the set 30-24 and the match 3-1.

UCI freshman Carson Clark led all players with 23 kills and hit .588 (23-3-34) from the right side. Senior Taylor Wilson had 16 kills, six blocks and eight digs. Junior Cole Reinholm totaled 12 kills and junior Bryan Simmons recorded a career-high 10 kills and seven total blocks. Setter Ryan Ammerman tallied 50 set assists and five blocks, while freshman middle blocker had a match-high eight total blocks. Libero Brent Asuka had a match-high nine digs in the victory.

Pacific was paced by Jeff Hendershot with 12 kills, hitting .526 (12-2-19) and recording five digs. Sean Daley recorded 10 kills followed by Jason Borchin with eight kills and five digs. Joe Forbes had a team-high five blocks, while Mark Bauhs had 39 set assists.

The Cardinal Crushed by UCI

UC Irvine Sweeps Stanford

Bryan Simmons records career-high nine block assists

Feb. 6, 2009

Final Stats

IRVINE, Calif. --- Jon Steller led UC Irvine with 11 kills while Bryan Simmons totaled a career-high nine block assists to lead the Anteaters to a 30-,25, 30-23, 30-22 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation win over Stanford Friday at the Bren Center. The win lifted UCI to 9-2 overall (5-1 MPSF) while the Cardinal dropped to 7-5 (3-4) overall.

Steller committed just two errors in 19 attempts for a .474 average while Taylor Wilson and Kevin Wynne put away 10 kills apiece. The Anteaters hit an efficient .317 while holding Stanford to a .164 hitting percentage on the night. Ryan Ammerman put up 42 assists while Brent Asuka totaled a team-high 12 digs. Wilson and Ammerman combined for eight block assists as UCI recorded an 11-7 block advantage in the win.

UCI jumped out to an 8-1 lead over Stanford in the first set for its largest lead of the frame. The Cardinal chipped at the lead and came as close as two points at twice, the last coming at 22-20 on a kill by Evan Barry. However, the Anteaters responded with a 6-1 run, stifling the Cardinal attack at the net on four plays to lead 28-21. The duo of Wilson and Simmons denied Evan Romero at the net for the game-winning point.

The Anteaters were off to a fast start in the second set, leading 5-1 to force an early timeout by Stanford. The UCI lead extended to six on a service ace by Jordan DuFault but the Cardinal rallied to cut the lead to three at 16-13. However, at 23-20, UCI strung together five straight points for a 28-20 advantage and took a 2-0 set lead on a kill from Wilson.

In the final frame, UCI broke away from a 3-3 tie with a five-point run, capped by back-to-back service aces by Steller for an 8-3 lead and cruised to a 30-22 win.

Taylor Wilson Sweeps Player of the Week Awards

From UCIrvinesports.com: http://ucirvinesports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/spec-rel/020209aaa.html

Taylor Wilson Sweeps Player of the Week Awards

Wilson named National Player of the Week for second time in his career

Feb. 2, 2009

Irvine, Calif. -- UC Irvine senior outside hitter Taylor Wilson was named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men’s National Player of the Week as well as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Player of the Week sharing the honor with Stanford's Brad Lawson.

He was instrumental in two UC Irvine victories last week. The outside hitter began the week with a .500 hitting performance against Princeton, recording 12 kills and just one error in 22 swings. He also added three block assists and two digs.

Wilson ended the week with a season-high 17 kills and five block assists in the win over UCLA. After losing the first set to the Bruins, Wilson almost single-handedly evened the score at 1-1 with eight kills, an ace and four block assists while hitting .462 (8-3-12). He contributed to 11 of the Anteaters' points as UCI collectively hit just .194 in the second set with no one else recording more than two kills.

For the week, Wilson averaged 4.14 kills, 4.86 points and 1.14 blocks.

This is Wilson’s second Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men’s National Player of the Week honor, having also earned the distinction Jan. 28, 2008. It is also the 12th time an athlete from UC Irvine has grabbed the award.

Wilson Also Receives MPSF POTW Honors!

http://mpsports.cstv.com/sports/m-volley/spec-rel/020309aab.html

LAWSON AND WILSON MPSF MOLTEN PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Woodland, Calif. - Stanford freshman outside hitter Brad Lawson (Honolulu, HI/Iolani School) led the Cardinal to an improbable comeback win over No. 7 Long Beach State this past Friday. Down two sets and three separate match points, he knocked down three kills to finish off the third set and keep Stanford in the match. This effort was en route to a 27-kill night (5.4 K/S) with a huge .438 attack, in addition to 11 digs for a double-double. Against UC San Diego, he had another double-digit night with 11 kills, for a combined 38 kills (.386) and 17 digs on the week.

Woodland, Calif. - UC Irvine senior outside hitter Taylor Wilson (Mission Viejo, CA/Capistrano Valley HS) led the Anteaters to a pair of victories last week over Princeton and No. 8 UCLA. Against the Tigers, he was 12 for 22 attacking with just one error (.500), and followed up with a 17-kill (.387), five-block night vs. the Bruins. He tallied eight kills, four blocks, and an ace in the second set alone to begin the comeback. Wilson hit .434 for the week and averaged 4.14 kills and 1.14 blocks per set.

Taylor Wilson AVCA/Bison Player of the Week 2/2/09

For the original story visit: http://www.avca.org/divisions/men/player-of-the-week/

Congrats to Taylor "Bones" Wilson-- GREAT WEEK, MATE!

Wilson Propels Anteaters to Perfect 2-0 Week

Feb. 2 - Taylor Wilson, a 6-7 senior outside hitter for then-No. 4 UC Irvine, has been named the Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week. He earned the award for his solid play in leading the Anteaters to two victories last week, which included a victory over Mountain Sports Pacific Federation foe UCLA. In UC Irvine's first match of the week, a 3-0 win over Princeton, Taylor recorded 12 kills in just one error in 22 attempts for a .500 attack percentage. He also added three block assists and two digs during the. He followed that performance with a monster outing against then-No. 8 UCLA, smashing 17 kills to hit at a .378 clip and totaling five block assists, four digs and an ace in a 3-1 triumph. Wilson notched eight kills, an ace and four block assists in the second set alone, allowing the Anteaters to knot the score at 1-1 and eventually go onto the win. For the week, Wilson turned in a .434 hitting percentage over the two matches, while averaging 4.14 kills, 1.14 blocks and 4.86 points per game. This is Wilson's second Sports Imports/AVCA Division I-II Men's National Player of the Week honor, having also earned the distinction Jan. 28, 2008. It is also the 12th time an athlete from UC Irvine has grabbed the award. The last Anteater to receive the honor was Jon Steller on April 7, 2008. UC Irvine is coached by John Speraw.