No. 2-ranked ‘Eaters visit No. 1 Northridge

The No. 2-ranked UC Irvine men’s volleyball team will try to knock off top-ranked Cal State Northridge in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match tonight at 7 at the Matadome.

Coach John Speraw’s Anteaters (16-3, 11-2 in conference) are tied for second in the MPSF with Pepperdine, a half-game behind the Matadors (16-2, 12-2), who defeated UCI in four games, Jan. 16, at the Bren Events Center.

UCI is coming off impressive wins over UCLA and Loyola-Chicago, in which they hit a combined .322 as a team.

Senior setter Ryan Ammerman earned national player of the week and shared MPSF Player of the Week laurels after averaging nearly 12 assists per set in the two wins.

UC Irvine leads the MPSF in overall blocking, while Northridge leads the conference in aces (2.2 per set).

Other UCI stalwarts include sophomore outside hitter Jordan DuFault, senior All-American opposite Jon Steller and freshman opposite Carson Clark.

The Matadors are led by 6-foot-8, 230-pound sophomore opposite Tanner Nua, freshman setter Matt Stork and 7-0 junior middle blocker Jacek Ratajczak.

— Barry Faulkner