UCI volleyball eyes No. 1 ranking

In the world of collegiate men’s volleyball, UC Irvine is No. 2. But the Anteaters are trying harder.

On a nine-match winning streak, UCI gets its chance to take down No. 1 when Brigham Young University comes to town for two matches this weekend. The teams will meet Friday at 7 p.m. in the Bren Events Center before moving to cozier Crawford Court for a 6 p.m. match Saturday.

The Anteaters’ success is hardly a case of seniors bearing down in their final campaign. In fact, Coach John Speraw has just two seniors on his active roster and one in the starting lineup.

That makes UCI a force to be reckoned with in the future, particularly with the quality of Speraw’s incoming recruiting class.

Of course, the Anteaters can make a name for themselves now by defeating the Cougars in this Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matchup.