UCI gains MPSF berth
The UC Irvine men’s volleyball team, behind 30 kills from junior
outside hitter Jimmy Pelzel defeated Pacific, 36-34, 27-30, 30-24,
30-20 in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match at Crawford Hall
Friday.
The win secures a berth into the MPSF tournament for the
Anteaters. It will be the third MPSF tournament appearance for UCI,
which improved to 19-9, 12-9 in MPSF play. The 12 league wins sets a
school record for most conference wins in a season, surpassing the
11-9 record of 1999.
UCI led 20-16 in game one, but two kills from Tim Jenson and a
hitting error by the Anteaters brought UOP back to 20-19. The teams
traded points, until a Nic Vislay kill gave UCI match point, 29-27. A
kill by Aaron Wachtfogel and another UCI hitting error knotted the
score at 29-29. The teams once again ping-ponged back and forth until
Vislay pounded another kill at 35-34. A Wachtfogel hitting error
ended the game, giving UCI a 36-34 win.
With the scored tied at 27-27 in game two, a UOP hitting error and
a David Kniffin service ace gave the Anteaters match point.
Wachtfogel again had the burden of a hitting error on game point, as
UCI took the second set 30-27.
The Anteaters were led by Pelzel, who had a .522 hitting
percentage and a match-high six blocks. UCI will close out the
regular season, hosting Stanford tonight.
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