Saeta gives UCI winning hand

Michael Saeta is known for the frequency of his aces, but those who have seen the UC Irvine senior setter perform would agree that his ultimate value on the volleyball court may be as a wild card.

A 6-foot-5, 174-pounder, Saeta’s spindly left arm has produced 62 aces this season, one better than former four-year All-American Carson Clark, who previously held the school single-season mark.

Saeta has started parts of four seasons and leads the No. 5-ranked and No. 4-seeded Anteaters (19-6) into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament quarterfinal against No. 5-seeded and No. 6-ranked UCLA (17-9) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

He ranks second in the nation in aces per set (.63) and has helped UCI lead the nation with 12.8 assists per set. He has also produced 153 kills, fourth on the team, and his 128 digs rank second on the team.

And his ability to take full swings to convert passes near the net that most setters pop skyward to facilitate their hitters, into kills, often against unsuspecting defenses, is as valuable as it is uncommon.

“Saeta is a big part of why our offense works and it’s not necessarily his setting,” UCI Coach David Kniffin said. “When he is in the front row, teams have to worry about another hitter in the lineup, so he’s making everybody think. He puts a lot of stress on other teams, just by the nature of what he does.”

Kniffin, a former setter at UCI, who served as an assistant coach before assuming the helm prior to the 2013 season, said Saeta’s hitting prowess (a .408 hitting percentage) is as good as he has seen for a setter.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen any in the league that do it like he does,” Kniffin said. “I’ve seen some guys bigger than he was … but Michael is probably the most potent attacker that I’ve seen at the setter position.”

Last season, when injuries cut into the Anteaters’ roster of hitters, Saeta was utilized for a time at opposite. He produced 211 kills, third-most on the team, and hit .319.

But Saeta, a two-time CIF Southern Section Player of the Year at Pasadena Poly who helped UCI reach the NCAA semifinals in 2015, returned to his familiar role of facilitator this season.

“I’ve always been a good server, so that shows I have a bit of an arm,” Saeta said. “Being able to make a switch to help the team hitting was fun [last season]. But I’m running the offense [this season]; whatever I can do to help the team.”

Saeta said he still enjoys not just creating kills, but crushing a few of his own.

“It’s a competitive differentiator that makes us a little bit of a different team,” Saeta said. “You can’t play us like you play everyone else, and that’s important.

“I don’t want to ever seem like I don’t have confidence in my hitters, because that’s far from the truth. But I have the ability to open up some things for my hitters. Even if I get blocked once, when I have the opportunity to be offensive, I can grab blockers. That makes the match easier for the rest of my [teammates] and that’s what can separate our offense from other teams.”

UCI senior opposite Tamir Hershko said he appreciates the diverse ways Saeta contributes, including his 936 assists and 40 total blocks.

“First of all, his serve is just unreal,” said Hershko, a 2015 All-American who leads UCI in kills. “This guy can score an enormous amount of points from the service line. He hits the ball pretty hard for a skinny guy. And his left hand is a very dangerous tool at the net when he is front row. It’s always been great to have him there as an option. He is just is a competitor. He goes out there and competes and he never gives up.”

Hershko said Saeta also brings some intangibles to the mix.

“He’s a good leader,” Hershko said. “He takes ownership and he takes pride in the team. You see the sparkle in his eye and people do follow that.”

Saeta, whose father David was a setter at Stanford, said he would like to play professionally indoors in Europe. He and teammate Dillon Hoffman won a double-A rated tournament in Manhattan Beach over the summer to earn a Triple-A beach rating and Saeta said the Assn. of Volleyball Professionals beach tour is another potential option that he may pursue.

barry.faulkner@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarryFaulkner5