Anteaters pushed, but push through

IRVINE — In the sleepover portions of the Big West Conference women’s volleyball schedule, in which matches are played on back-to-back nights, the adrenaline hangover is a constant fear.

But UC Irvine, 24 hours after sweeping visiting Pacific, fought off any lingering listlessness to dispatch visiting UC Davis, 30-28, 30-28, 30-25, in front of 333 Saturday at Crawford Court.

Junior outside hitter Lauren Kellerman led the way with 21 kills, while freshman outside hitter Kari Pestolesi chipped in 13 kills and a match-high 18 digs and sophomore setter Taryn Robertson produced 44 assists to help the Anteaters improve to 16-6, 4-1 in conference.

But Davis (3-14, 0-6), coached by Newport Harbor High product Steve Walker, gave the hosts all they could handle. The Aggies, who lost in four games Friday at UC Riverside, and have won just two of their 20 games against Big West foes, led in every game against UCI.

Davis never let Coach Charlie Brande’s Anteaters lead by more than four, until the final point of the third game.

“Every night it’s a battle, because every night, every coach in this conference comes prepared,” Brande said. “Steve did a great, great job. He knew what we were going to do before we knew what we were going to do.”

What the Anteaters did most was simply hang tough in a match in which the score was tied 29 times and there were 17 lead changes.

“We were so strong and so prepared for [Friday] night,” Kellerman said. “But this just shows you can’t overlook any team in this league. It’s hard to mentally prepare and stay in it [when you play back-to-back nights], and the tendency is to let up. But this conference is a great conference and we’ve got to push through every night. Every night matters. Luckily, tonight, we took care of business.”

Brande was clearly pleased with that aforementioned push, that allowed the Anteaters to pull away as each game wore on.

“I thought we put so much energy into last night, that we were a little bit flat today,” Brande said. “But we had the energy to step it up at the end of all three games. I told the team [afterward], how proud I was that they were able to make the plays. The key is scoring that 30th point and we showed the ability to make that move in the last five or six points in all the games.

Kellerman, who hit .298 in 47 attempts, produced four of her team’s final five points in the first game on kills. Her seven kills in the opening game led all players.

In the second game, a pair of quick-set kills by middle blockers Kristin Kelley and Chelsea Ellis produced the final two points for the winners.

“And I don’t know how we did it in that final game,” Brande said with a smile.

After Davis forged an 18-15 advantage — the first and only time all night it led by more than two — Robertson halted the momentum shift by dumping the ball (hitting over the net when she would normally set) for a point.

Kellerman then hammered a high Robertson set to trim the deficit to 18-17 and UCI eventually pulled even at 20-20.

Kellerman followed a kill with her only ace of the match to put the hosts up, 22-20 and middles Ellis, Kelley and Shannan Homan, who came off the bench to match Ellis with a team-best four block assists, eventually led to a 25-22 UCI advantage.

With UCI up, 28-24, Davis committed a hitting error, scored on Erin Turner’s team-leading 14th kill, then drove a serve into the net for match point.

“I think this was a good lesson for us that on back-to-back nights, we’ve got to come out strong,” Kellerman said. “No matter who our opponent is, we’ve got to take care of our side of the net.”

The pair of victories for UCI, as well as a growing list of injuries, prompted Brande to give the team Monday off, as it prepares to visit Cal State Fullerton Thursday and play host to defending conference champion Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Saturday.

“We’re a little banged up right now,” Brande said. “Kellerman’s back is bad, [junior libero Devon] Sutherland’s hip is bad, Kelley’s knees are bad and Pestolesi’s shoulder is bad. We need an extra day to just rest our bodies.”

Ellis hit .462 (seven kills in 13 attempts, while Kelley hit .278 (eight kills in 18 chances) to help the Anteaters hit .271 as a team.

Davis, in its first year as an official member of the conference, having come from the Division II ranks, hit a mere .168 as a team.

Davis won the blocking battle, 9.5-8 and had just four service errors, to the Anteaters’ 15.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at barry.faulkner@latimes.com.