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.