Jan. 5, 2013

Box Score

Follow UCLA Athletics on Twitter

Follow UCLA Athletics on Facebook

Fifth-ranked UCLA fell in five games to top-ranked UC Irvine Saturday in the championship match of the Asics Invitational in Santa Barbara.

Set scores were 16-25, 17-25, 26-24, 25-21, 13-15. The Bruins fell to 2-1 on the season, while the Anteaters improved to 3-0.

The Anteaters surged to a 2-0 set advantage before the Bruins stormed back, reminiscent of Friday's rally against UC Santa Barbara. The Anteaters were looking at a sweep after scoring three straight points to rally from a 22-20 deficit in Set 3. A couple of UCLA blocks and a kill by junior Robart Page gave the Bruins a 26-24 victory.

In Set 4, UCLA broke open a close set and took a 20-14 lead on kills by Page and senior Scott Vegas. The Anteaters rallied and closed the gap to 23-21 forcing the Bruins to call a timeout. Following the break, UCI committed a service error to give the Bruins a three-point cushion. A UCLA point tied the match.

In Set 5, the Bruins held a 13-12 lead before the `Eaters scored three straight points to ice the match.

Page led the Bruins with 17 kills and 18 points, followed by Vegas with 15 kills, an ace and one block assist. Sophomore Kene Izuchukwu came off the bench and spiked nine kills. Junior Evan Mottram led both teams with 20 digs, a career-high.

Four players recorded double-digit kills for UCI, led by Zack La Cavera's 17 kills, four aces and 21 points.