Anteaters begin final push

IRVINE — With a week-long break for finals behind it, the top-ranked UC Irvine men’s volleyball team got an early start on its push toward a promising finish.

That push included a 30-17, 30-25, 30-26 pasting of No. 13-ranked Hawaii in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match Thursday at the Bren Events Center.

But it also included a players-only practice Saturday that helped knock any residual rust off the Anteaters, before they returned to workouts Monday.

“I thought we were pretty sharp, considering the week off,” UCI Coach John Speraw said. “I felt like Monday, the first day back after the week off, we were as good as we’ve been coming off that break, so I felt pretty good coming into this match.”

Speraw also felt good about the initiative taken by his players to work out before returning to official practices.

“I know that they came in on their own and did an open gym, without any coaches, and I think that contributed to [being sharper],” Speraw said. “That just shows they’re pretty into it.”

The Anteaters (18-3, 12-2 in conference) got into the Warriors (6-14, 3-12) from the outset.

UCI recorded six of its nine service aces in the opening game, when it also hit .476 and held the visitors to a negative-.111 hitting percentage. UCI finished hitting .369 as a team.

“There’s always a risk, coming off finals, of being a little sloppy in those first couple matches,” Speraw said. “But I thought we were pretty efficient tonight.”

Senior outside hitter Taylor Wilson paced a balanced attack for the hosts, recording a match-high 15 kills and hitting .333. Wilson’s three aces also led all players and he had three block assists.

Sophomore outside hitter Jordan DuFault added nine kills, while freshman opposite Carson Clark (seven), freshman middle blocker Austin D’Amore (six), sophomore middle Kevin Wynne (six) and senior opposite Jon Steller (six), also chipped in.

Senior setter Ryan Ammerman had 38 assists, before giving way to sophomore Anthony Spittle (six assists) after UCI led, 19-11, in the final set. Ammerman also had three block assists.

D’Amore’s career-high eight block assists also helped the Anteaters, who have now won six straight and 14 of their last 15, record a 9-5 advantage in team blocks.

“Austin is a freshman who clearly is getting more comfortable out there,” Speraw said. “He’s continuing to mature, he’s really improving his range, he’s getting up on time and just starting to slowly get better, which is nice to see.”

The No. 1 ranking, awarded to UCI after it knocked off then-top-ranked Cal State Northridge in its last match before finals on March 13, is also nice to see, Speraw said. But the veteran coach, who has now guided the Anteaters to the top national ranking in four of his seven seasons, including three of the last four, said neither he, nor his players, are among those most excited.

“I haven’t heard the guys talk about it a lot and it’s not really a big deal to me,” Speraw said of the No. 1 status. “I don’t mean that in an arrogant way, but hopefully everybody understands that it’s more important to me to be No. 1 in May.

“We enjoy being No. 1 and I think it helps our program,” Speraw said. “It helps recruiting, it helps marketing, it builds some excitement on campus and I think it’s great for the whole athletic department. We’re proud to be a part of that, but, ultimately, this team is well aware that the ultimate goal is being No. 1 at the end.”

UCI, which plays host to Hawaii again tonight, has seven regular-season matches left as it tries to better fellow MPSF leader Pepperdine, as well as Northridge, to earn the regular-season conference crown.

UCI, which was defeated by Pepperdine Feb. 20 in Malibu, plays host to the Waves on April 11.

UCI senior libero Brent Asuka had a team-high seven digs against the team the Hawaii native grew up rooting for.

“It’s just always special playing Hawaii,” Asuka said. “I grew up going to [Hawaii] matches and watching them on TV when I couldn’t go.”

Asuka also said the plays-only workout was beneficial.

“We had an open gym as a team to just to touch the ball and get back in rhythm get used to the ball again,” he said.