UC Irvine was picked to finish third in the Big West preseason poll. In the recent AVCA Coaches Poll done on Tuesday, the Anteaters moved from No. 4 to 3 in the rankings.

In the season opener against No. 20 George Mason on Tuesday, UC Irvine fell in five sets to the Patriots. After taking a 2-1 set lead, the Anteaters dropped the final two sets by scores of 25-23 and 15-12. Hilir Henno led the way with a team-leading 17 kills, 11 digs, and being second in total blocks with three.

LAST TIME WE MET THE ANTEATERS
Wednesday's match will be the second matchup all-time between the two programs. The last time the two teams faced off was in 2017, where Saint Francis fell to No. 6 UC Irvine in a straight set loss.

The Red Flash will be looking for their first win in their ninth duel all-time against the Big West.

LAST TIME OUT
The Red Flash suffered a 3-1 set loss against No. 5 Ohio State in their season opener on Monday. Saint Francis held a 1-0 lead and had set two tied at 17, but the Buckeyes went on a 8-3 run to win set two, 25-20. With this momentum, Ohio State took the final two sets to win the match. 

Andrew Deardorff registered 18 kills and Peyton Blain tallied a career-best 12 digs. Ryan Parker sits at 1,425 assists after recording 33 against Ohio State. He is 75 away from becoming the fourth player in program history to record 1,500+ assists.

UP NEXT
The Red Flash will stay in California for one more match against No. 2 Long Beach State on Saturday, January 13 at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST.