UC Irvine takes out Warriors in 4 sets

Clark was Superman.

UC Irvine’s Carson Clark was everywhere Hawaii didn’t want him to be in the Anteaters’ 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-19 volleyball victory Friday night in the Stan Sheriff Center.

While it appeared Clark entered in a bit of a slump in the context of his All-America career, he made the right plays at the right time to boost the second-ranked Anteaters to their eighth victory in 10 matches. They are 4-2 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation.

The Warriors fell to 6-6 and 3-4 — good enough for seventh place in the MPSF. The top eight teams qualify for the league’s postseason tournament.

Clark slammed 19 kills and produced nine digs, a defensive wonderment for an opposite attacker. He also contributed to three of the Anteaters’ 11 blocks, including a solo rejection of UH’s prolific Steven Hunt in the fourth set.

“We’ve been working on the connection with Carson,” UCI coach John Speraw said. “He had a big night.”

After a difficult first set, the Anteaters were able to absorb the Warriors’ best serves and parlay them into an all-points attack.

The Anteaters scored 16 points on attacks launched behind the 3-meter line. Clark was particularly effective, smashing 10 kills on D sets from the back right.

The back-row attack “is not a huge part of their offense, but it was enough to frustrate you, for sure,” UH head coach Charlie Wade said.

With the Warriors having to track Clark, that opened the way for middle Dan McDonnell (12 kills) and left-side hitter Jeremy Dejno (15 kills).

The Anteaters entered as the nation’s toughest servers. They came up with five aces — three by Dejno, two by Clark — and often forced the Warriors into predictable sets, which allowed them to set up the block.

“Our serving was OK, but we got aces at the right time,” Speraw said.

The Warriors had their opportunities. They closed to 20-19 in the second set before the Anteaters finished with a 5-1 surge.

It was tied at 23 in the third set. But then Clark blasted a kill of a D set, and then McDonnell blocked UH’s Nick West.

“They came out and played like we expected — high-offensive volleyball — and, in the end, we couldn’t keep up with them,” West said.

West, who spent two years at Irvine before transferring last summer, praised Clark’s versatility.

“He has a wide variety of shots,” West said. “We saw a couple of them tonight.”

Nearly overlooked was the Anteaters’ success on rallies. In transition, setter Daniel Stork, the son of an Olympic gold medalist, was at his best.

“(Stork) absolutely understands the game,” Wade said. “He knows how to manage the team. They’ve got some great arms. Whether it’s getting after it from the service line or out of system in transition, they’re a talented group, for sure.”

Speraw said: “It was a good win. It’s always a good win when you’re not playing as well as you can. The term is an ‘ugly win,’ and we won ugly tonight.”

NO. 2 UC IRVINE DEF. NO. 12 HAWAII 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-19